Taurus (constellation)

Taurus (Latin, 'Bull') is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the northern celestial hemisphere. Taurus is a large and easy-to-see constellation in the Northern Hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, going back to the Early Bronze Age. It showed where the Sun was during the spring equinox.

Astronomers find Taurus very interesting. It contains two of the closest groups of stars to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, which you can see without a telescope. The brightest star in Taurus is Aldebaran, a big red star. In the northeast part of Taurus is Messier 1, also called the Crab Nebula, which is what is left after a huge star exploded. Taurus also has a place where new stars are being born, called the Taurus-Auriga complex, and a special type of young star named T Tauri.

Characteristics

Taurus is a large and easy-to-see group of stars in the winter sky of the Northern Hemisphere. You can find it between Aries on the west and Gemini on the east. In late November and early December, Taurus is farthest from the Sun and can be seen all night. By late March, it disappears behind the Sun's brightness until May through July.

Taurus is part of the zodiac. This means the Sun appears to pass through it each year. The Moon and planets also often move through Taurus. The Milky Way passes through part of Taurus as well. The short name for this constellation is “Tau.”

Features

Stars

See also: List of stars in Taurus

There are four bright stars in Taurus. The brightest is Aldebaran, an orange star that looks like a glowing eye. It follows the group of stars called the Pleiades as they move across the night sky. Near Aldebaran is a group of stars called the Hyades, which form the face of a bull. The Hyades include a double star called Theta Tauri.

The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is a group of stars easy to see without a telescope. Many more stars are hidden within this group, which is very young in star terms.

Two stars, Beta Tauri and Zeta Tauri, form the bull's horns. Beta Tauri, also called El Nath, is very bright and shares a border with another group of stars called Auriga. Zeta Tauri is a pair of stars that orbit each other.

Lambda Tauri is a pair of stars that dim regularly as they pass in front of each other. Near Epsilon Tauri is T Tauri, a young star still wrapped in gas and dust.

Deep-sky objects

In the northern part of Taurus lies the Crystal Ball Nebula, discovered long ago. It helped scientists learn that some fuzzy patches in the sky are actually clouds of gas.

North-west of Zeta Tauri is the Crab Nebula, the remains of a huge star explosion seen on Earth in the year 1054. It was bright enough to see during the day.

Taurus contains a large area where new stars are forming, filled with clouds of gas and dust.

Meteor showers

In November, the Taurid meteor shower seems to come from Taurus. The Beta Taurid meteor shower happens in June and July during the day. In October, both the Northern and Southern Taurids are active.

History and mythology

The constellation Taurus, meaning "the Bull," has been known for a very long time. People have seen Taurus as a bull shape in the night sky since ancient days, maybe even when humans first started painting on cave walls.

In many cultures, Taurus was linked to important stories. For the ancient Babylonians, Taurus was called "The Bull of Heaven." In old stories from Mesopotamia, the bull was part of a tale. In Egypt, Taurus was a sacred sign of spring. For the Greeks, Taurus was part of myths about gods. Today, Taurus is still a well-known part of the stars.

Space exploration

The space probe Pioneer 10 is moving toward this part of the sky. It will not get close to any stars here for thousands of years. By that time, its batteries will already be dead.

Astrology

Main article: Taurus (astrology)

The Sun moves through the constellation Taurus from May 13 to June 21. In tropical astrology, people believe the Sun is in the sign of Taurus from April 20 to May 20.