Explore the Universe - Taurus

Taurus is the great bull in the sky that has likely been known since the paleolithic times.  During the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) and the early Bronze Age this constellation marked the location of the Sun during the Spring equinox.  There are many interesting myths associated with Taurus.  In the Epic of Gilgamesh a goddess named Ishtar sends a bull to attack Gilgamesh (likely Orion just to the South).  For many cultures Taurus represented renewal since as the Sun moved into the constellation Spring began.  The Egyptians documented that the Sun would vanquish the bull as a sacrifice to begin the new season.

In Greek Mythology, Zeus took the form of a bull to capture a new mistress -- Europa and carried her across the sea.  This is why the constellation is depicted as just the front end of the bull since its hindquarters are in the water.  A Canadian Inuit myth depicts the brightest star, Aldebaran, as a Polar Bear and the Hyades star cluster around it are dogs fighting it off.  Even Buddhism has a claim that Buddha was born when the Full Moon was in Taurus and his birthday is still celebrated at that time.  An artist's depiction of the great bull is shown below.

Taurus (Artist Interpretation)

Charles Messier, the famous comet hunter, found his first non-comet in Taurus.  He found a fuzzy patch near Zeta Tauri and it became known as M1 - The Crab Nebula.  The Pleiades (M45) is also located in Taurus and is the most visible cluster of stars to the naked eye.  Some people may know the cluster as the Seven Sisters.  Even in heavily light polluted areas you can see the fuzzy patch of stars.  The Hyades star cluster is also located in Taurus in and around the bright red star Aldebaran.  It is interesting to note that Aldebaran is located near the ecliptic and is occulted by the Moon in four year spurts every 20 or so years.  This is actually in progress right now, keep posted for the next occultation of Aldebaran.

Taurus contains many bright stars and is fascinating to look at through binoculars.  The mapping I did is provided below.

Taurus Observation Record

In the picture above you may notice the tight cluster of stars in the right hand corner.  This is the Pleiades star cluster, also known as Messier 45.  I took an image of it below.

Pleiades Star Cluster (M45)

The Hyades is located just South of the Pleiades and a picture is provided below.  Notice the 'dogs' all attacking the big polar bear at the top of the picture.

Hyades Star Cluster

As I was trying to get a good image of the Hyades a satellite quickly flew through my view and is depicted as a string of light over the exposure of the photo.

Satellite through the Hyades

As the weather gets warmer and the skies get clearer I hope you have the opportunity to take a closer look at Taurus!