Taurus (constellation) astronomers. Taurus hosts two of the nearest open clusters to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, both of which are visible to the naked eye. At first magnitude, the red giant Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation. In the northwest part of Taurus is the supernova remnant Messier 1, more commonly known as the Crab Nebula. One of the closest regions of active star formation, the Taurus-Auriga complex, crosses into the northern part of the constellation. The variable star T Tauri is the prototype of a class of pre-main-sequence stars. Taurus is a big and prominent constellation in
Aquila (constellation) and the people of Pukapuka called Altair "Turu" and used it as a navigational star. The Māori people named Altair "Poutu-te-rangi", "Pillar of the Sky", because of its important position in their cosmology. It was used differently in different Māori calendars, being the star of February and March in one version and March and April in the other. Altair was also the star that ruled the annual sweet potato harvest. Two United States Navy ships, USS" Aquila" (AK-47) and USS "Aquila" (PHM-4), are named after the constellation. Aquila (constellation) Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is