Constellation: Taurus

Taurus

Tauri (13 May-21 June)

TAURUS – THE BULL Genitive: Tauri

Taurus is one of the oldest constellations known. It was first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

In Greek mythology, Taurus represents the god Zeus, who in one tale transformed himself into a bull in order to seduce and abduct Europa, the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician King Agenor.

In a different myth, the constellation is associated with the nymph Io, who was also seduced by Zeus. When the two were almost caught by Zeus’ wife Hera, the god transformed Io into a heifer to protect her.

Taurus constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “bull” in Latin. The constellation is symbolized by the bull’s head, .

Taurus is one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation’s history, however, dates back to the Bronze Age.

Taurus is a large constellation and one of the oldest ones known. In Greek mythology, the constellation is associated with Zeus, who transformed himself into a bull in order to get close to Europa and abduct her.

Taurus is known for its bright stars Aldebaran, El Nath, and Alcyone, as well as for the variable star T Tauri. The constellation is probably best known for the Pleiades (Messier 45), also known as the Seven Sisters, and the Hyades, which are the two nearest open star clusters to Earth.

Taurus also has a number of famous deep sky objects, among them the supernova remnant Messier 1 (the Crab Nebula), Hind’s Variable Nebula (NGC 1555), the colliding galaxies NGC 1410 and NGC 1409, the Crystal Ball Nebula (NGC 1514), and the Merope Nebula (NGC 1435).

Characteristics

Taurus is a big and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky, between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east; to the north lie Perseus and Auriga, to the southeast Orion, to the south Eridanus, and to the southwest Cetus. In September and October, Taurus is visible in the evening along the eastern horizon. The most favorable time to observe Taurus in the night sky is during the months of December and January. By March and April, the constellation will appear to the west during the evening twilight.[5]

This constellation forms part of the zodiac, and hence is intersected by the ecliptic. This circle across the celestial sphere forms the apparent path of the Sun as the Earth completes its annual orbit. As the orbital plane of the Moon and the planets lie near the ecliptic, they can usually be found in the constellation Taurus during some part of each year.[5] The galactic plane of the Milky Way intersects the northeast corner of the constellation and the galactic anticenter is located near the border between Taurus and Auriga. Taurus is the only constellation crossed by all three of the galactic equator, celestial equator, and ecliptic. A ring-like galactic structure known as Gould's Belt passes through the constellation.[6]

The recommended three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is "Tau".[2] The official constellation boundaries, as set by Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 26 segments. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 03h 23.4m and 05h 53.3m, while the declination coordinates are between 31.10° and −1.35°.[7] Because a small part of the constellation lies to the south of the celestial equator, this can not be a completely circumpolar constellation at any latitude.[8]

History and mythology

Taurus as depicted in the astronomical treatise Book of Fixed Stars by the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, c. 964.

Taurus as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825.

The identification of the constellation of Taurus with a bull is very old, certainly dating to the Chalcolithic, and perhaps even to the Upper Paleolithic. Michael Rappenglück of the University of Munich believes that Taurus is represented in a cave painting at the Hall of the Bulls in the caves at Lascaux (dated to roughly 15,000 BC), which he believes is accompanied by a depiction of the Pleiades.[37][38] The name "seven sisters" has been used for the Pleiades in the languages of many cultures, including indigenous groups of Australia, North America and Siberia. This suggests that the name may have a common ancient origin.[39]

Taurus marked the point of vernal (spring) equinox in the Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age, from about 4000 BC to 1700 BC, after which it moved into the neighboring constellation Aries.[40] The Pleiades were closest to the Sun at vernal equinox around the 23rd century BC. In Babylonian astronomy, the constellation was listed in the MUL.APIN as GU4.AN.NA, "The Bull of Heaven".[41] As this constellation marked the vernal equinox, it was also the first constellation in the Babylonian zodiac and they described it as "The Bull in Front".[42] The Akkadian name was Alu.[43]

In the Old Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar sends Taurus, the Bull of Heaven, to kill Gilgamesh for spurning her advances.[44] Enkidu tears off the bull's hind part and hurls the quarters into the sky where they become the stars we know as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Some locate Gilgamesh as the neighboring constellation of Orion, facing Taurus as if in combat,[45] while others identify him with the sun whose rising on the equinox vanquishes the constellation. In early Mesopotamian art, the Bull of Heaven was closely associated with Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare. One of the oldest depictions shows the bull standing before the goddess' standard; since it has 3 stars depicted on its back (the cuneiform sign for "star-constellation"), there is good reason to regard this as the constellation later known as Taurus.[43]

FACTS, LOCATION & MAP

Taurus is the 17th largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 797 square degrees. It is located in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -65°. The neighboring constellations are Aries, Auriga, Cetus, Eridanus, Gemini, Orion and Perseus.

Taurus belongs to the Zodiac family of constellations, along with Aries, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus and Pisces.

Taurus contains two Messier objects – Messier 1 (M1, NGC 1952, Crab Nebula) and Messier 45 (the Pleiades) – and has five stars that may have planets in their orbits. The brightest star in the constellation is Aldebaran, Alpha Tauri, with an apparent magnitude of 0.85. Aldebaran is also the 13th brightest star in the sky. There are two meteor showers associated with the constellation; the Taurids and the Beta Taurids. The Taurids peak in November, while the Beta Taurids can be seen in June and July.

Taurus Constellation Map, by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_(constellation) http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-names/

http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/taurus-constellation/