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Sky Chart and Artist Rendering of Taurus
Origin:
Taurus is a very old ecliptic constellation and the second sign of the
ancient zodiac. The origin of this constellation is lost in
antiquity. Ancient pictographs show Orion
fighting the Bull but more modern drawings only show the bull threatening
Orion.
Information:
Taurus is a winter constellation for northern hemisphere observers, the
head of the bull culminating nearly overhead at 9 pm on January 9.
The Hyades (a triangle of 5 bright stars) is northwest of Orion's right shoulder and directly south of Perseus. The beautiful Pleiades (M45) -- a
star cluster 13 light years wide 400 light years away -- is easily found
northwest of the Hyades.
Taurus is also home to the Crab Nebula
(M1, NGC 1952), imbedded in which is the so-called Crab Pulsar (a
fast-rotating neutron star). The Crab Nebula is about 6,500 light
years away and gets its name from a supposed crab-like appearance in large
telescopes and photographs -- a resemblance that few actually see.
It is the remnant of a supernova that was observed and recorded world-wide
in 1054 AD. The Chinese made the most detailed observations;
however, Native Americans recorded the stellar episode in petroglyphs as
well. Curiously, the Europeans were entirely silent about a
celestial event that lasted months and was visible during the day for over
three weeks. The supernova was so bright that it was visible during
the day time. The Crab Nebula is one of the most studied objects in
the sky so is worth hunting for even if it shows up through the telescope
as no more than a fuzzy patch of gas just slightly brighter than the
background.
Mythology:
In one myth, Zeus became enamored with the lovely but heavily guarded
princess Europa, daughter of the King of Tyre. To gain access to the
kingdom, Zeus changed himself into a beautiful white bull with golden
horns and mingled with the king's herds grazing in a field by the sea.
Europa noticed the unusual animal and went to feed it. So impressed
was she with the friendly and gentle bull that she climbed onto its back
and took hold of its golden horns so as to ride the majestic animal.
Nonthreateningly, the white bull rambled closer to the water but, when it
neared the shore, it ran headlong into the water and swam towards the
island of Crete. So strong a swimmer was the bull (after all, it was
an incarnation of a god), it took no time at all for Europa to discover
that she couldn't dismount the bull and swim back to shore.
In a short time, the two made landfall
in Crete. Zeus changed back into his normal self and quickly
realized that he could not marry the mortal Europa. Also enamored
with Europa, King Asterius of Crete requested that Zeus give her to
him to marry, a request that Zeus honored. |
