Hyades

7. Hyades Open Cluster The most famous of these "star-drifts" in the heavens discussed by Richard A. Proctor in his entry in the 1869 Proceedings of the Royal Society of London is the Hyades star cluster. It is the nearest moderately rich star cluster and can easily be seen with the naked eye: All the stars around Taurus's "V"-shaped head, with the exception of red Aldebaran, are cluster members. Because of its proximity the Hyades cluster has always played a central role in astronomy. It forms the first rung on the ladder of the distance scale of the universe and provides astronomers with an excellent laboratory for testing their theories of stellar structure and evolution. The brightest members of this open cluster form the familiar V - shaped head of Taurus the Bull (the 1st-magnitude star Aldebaran, however, is not a cluster member). For best viewing, use a good pair of binoculars, which will also nicely separate the wide double stars Theta and Sigma Tauri.