Of the 88 officially recognized constellations, there is only a handful that looks like an object, person, or creature that they should represent. The constellation Taurus is one of them.
Look on any clear autumn or winter night, and you will find that the bull sweeps through the sky like an Orion hunter. Orion raised his club and shield to protect himself. This is how the ancient Greeks first introduced the constellation, but they were not the first to identify its stars.
The constellation Taurus, known for at least seven thousand years, certainly dates from the Akkadian Empire of Mesopotamia. There he was associated with the Heavenly Bull, a mythical beast whom the goddess Ishtar sent to kill the hero Gilgamesh.
The Taurus constellation was the first constellation in the Babylonian zodiac, while the Egyptians believed that the human race was created when the Sun here reached its vernal equinox.
Here is a list of 10 interesting facts about the constellation Taurus: features and history of the discovery, neighbors and bright stars that make up the composition.
10. Observed throughout Russia
In the northern hemisphere, a bull passes through the sky from November to March, but the constellation is most noticeable in January.
- Taurus covers 797 square degrees.
- Right ascension: 4 hours
- Declination: 15 degrees
- It is best seen between latitudes of 90 degrees and minus 65 degrees.
Most of all, the residents of Russia were lucky, because you can observe the constellation throughout the country.
9. The myth of Zeus turning into a bull
The constellation Taurus is associated with Greek mythology. As in many Greek myths, it revolves around the love attention of the king of the gods Zeus.
This time, his love was focused on beautiful Europe, the daughter of King Agenor. To achieve his victims, Zeus often resorted to disguise, and this story is no different. This time he disguised himself as a beautiful bull and ended up in the herd of King Agenor.
Once Europe noticed the bull and was mesmerized by its beauty, she went up to him and climbed onto his back. The bull headed to the beach, but then surprised Europe by jumping into the sea and delivering it to the island of Crete. Once there, the bull finally showed himself to be Zeus and announced that she would become his mistress.
Europe will eventually have three sons from Zeus, later he will celebrate his conquest by placing the bull in the night sky.
8. The brightest stars: Aldebaran, Elnat, Alcyon
Also known as Alpha Tauri, Aldebaran It is located about 65 light-years from Earth and is the brightest star in the constellation, it is a red giant star, about 45 times the diameter of our Sun.
Also known as Beta Tauri, since the star is located on the border of Taurus and the Charioteer, it is sometimes called the Gamma Charioteer. Elnat - A blue giant star at a distance of about 130 light-years from Earth.
Alcyone - The third brightest star in its home constellation, as well as the brightest star of the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. Actually, this name means "Central." In Greek mythology, Alcyone represents the nymph of Atlantis, who later became the mother of Girei. Alcyone is a multi-star system consisting of four stars, which are 10 times the radius of the Sun.
7. Crab Nebula in the Constellation
Crab Nebula, also known as M1, is the result of a massive supernova explosion that was witnessed by Far Eastern astronomers in the 11th century, nebulae that are born in such a violent way are known as remnants of supernovae.
The crab nebula is vast, perhaps about 10 light-years across, and lies about 6,000 light-years from Earth.
6. Eudoxus - author of the first description of the constellation
The student of Plato, Eudoxus, described our system of constellations somewhere between 400 and 350 BC. He left his successors a stellar globe known as the Eudoxian Orb. The work of Eudoxus was lost, including the scope, but we know about his ideas from the story of Aratus, written about 220 BC
In the writings of Aratus we find descriptions of Orion, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Gemini, Taurus and dozens of other constellations that still plow our star maps.
The constellations described by Eudoxus do not include the region of stars near the south pole of the sky, as we would expect if the constellations were invented in the northern hemisphere. The size of the empty area on the Evdox Sphere (as described by Aratus) corresponds to that part of the sky that the observer who lived about 36 degrees north of the equator could not see. It is close to the latitude of Greece.
5. In the constellation are open star clusters: Hyades and Pleiades
The Hyades Cluster is easily found with the Orion Belt, a compact and visible line of three blue-white stars in the constellation Hunter Orion. Draw a line west (usually in the direction of your sunset) through the stars of the Belt, and you will come to the bright reddish star Aldebaran, the fiery red eye of the Bull.
Although Aldebaran is not a true member of the Hyades star cluster, this bright star is an excellent guide to this cluster. In fact, Aldebaran is only 65 light years from us. Hyades lie about 2.5 times further.
The constellation Taurus is home to another bright star cluster, the Pleiades. The Pleiades cluster is located more than 430 light-years from the Hyades. Both Hyades and Pleiades are easily visible to the naked eye, you just need to look through binoculars.
The cluster consists of young and extremely bright stars that began to form about 100 million years ago. At a distance of about 400 light-years from Earth, this is one of the closest star clusters to the Earth. The Pleiades contain hundreds of stars and have a width of more than 10 light years.
4. The myth of the Pleiades - the daughters of Atlanta
Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlanta and the Pleionsas well as the half-sisters of Hyades, whose mother was Etra. Perhaps they were also the half-sisters of the Hesperides, who were the daughters of either One Night, or Atlanta and Hesperis. Both Playon and Etra were the Oceanians, daughters of Ocean and Tethys, the titans who ruled in the outer seas before being replaced by Poseidon.
The Pleiades were also nymphs in a series of Artemis, and together with the seven Hyads they were called Atlantis, Dodonids or Nisiads, nannies and teachers of the baby Bacchus.
3. Neighboring Aries, Whale, Eridanus and others.
Taurus is a prominent northern constellation, lying immediately northwest of Orion. It is the highest in the evening sky in the months around December.
Other neighboring constellations Taurus: Aries, Auriga, Keith, Eridanus, Gemini, Perseus.
2. The journey to the constellation is mentioned in the books of Lem
In the work "The Star Diaries of Jon Pacific" The hero Stanislav Lem goes on a hunt for an animal called Kurdle, which lives in the constellation Taurus.
1. The constellation enters the zodiac circle
The constellation Taurus reaches its highest point between April and May. The constellation is named after the Roman god Jupiter or Zeus, in accordance with Greek tradition, which turns itself into a bull to visit the mortal world. It also traditionally symbolized the onset of spring and was considered a sign of fertility.
Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planet of love, luxury and beauty. Legend has it that when Saturn castrated his father, Uranus, the blood of Uranus spilled into the sea, saturating the sea foam and giving birth to the goddess Venus.
Taurus is one of three zodiac signs grouped under the element of earth.. Two other earth signs are Virgo and Capricorn. Since Taurus is the first sign of the Earth in the zodiac cycle, it is like a rock that sets the foundation.
Many Taurus are stabilizers, providing safety for themselves and others. Under the influence of the planetary cycle of Taurus, we all become more mundane and easier, taking the appropriate steps necessary to determine our goals.