Taurus ( constellation ) - wikipedia Taurus ( constellation ) Taurus Constellation List of stars in Taurus Abbreviation Tau Genitive Tauri Pronunciation / ˈtɔːrəs / TOR - əs genitive / ˈtɔːraɪ / TOR - eye Symbolism the Bull Right ascension 4.9 Declination 19 Quadrant NQ1 Area 797 sq. deg. ( 17th ) Main stars 19 Bayer / Flamsteed stars 132 Stars with planets 9 candidates Stars brighter than 3.00 Stars within 10.00 pc ( 32.62 ly ) Brightest star Aldebaran ( α Tau ) ( 0.85 ) Messier objects Meteor showers Taurids Beta Taurids Bordering constellations Auriga Perseus Aries Cetus Eridanus Orion Gemini Visible at latitudes between + 90 ° and − 65 °. Best visible at 21 : 00 ( 9 p.m. ) during the month of January. Taurus ( Latin for `` the Bull '' ) is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere 's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. A number of features exist that are of interest to astronomers. Taurus hosts two of the nearest open clusters to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, both of which are visible to the naked eye. At first magnitude, the red giant Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation. In the northwest part of Taurus is the supernova remnant Messier 1, more commonly known as the Crab Nebula. One of the closest regions of active star formation, the Taurus - Auriga complex, crosses into the northern part of the constellation. The variable star T Tauri is the prototype of a class of pre-main - sequence stars. Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Features 3 History and mythology 3.1 Astrology 3.2 Space exploration 3.3 Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Book references 8 External links 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. 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. 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. The recommended three - letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is `` Tau ''. 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 03 23.4 and 05 53.3, while the declination coordinates are between 31.10 ° and − 1.35 °. 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. Features The constellation Taurus as it can be seen by the naked eye. The constellation lines have been added for clarity. During November, the Taurid meteor shower appears to radiate from the general direction of this constellation. The Beta Taurid meteor shower occurs during the months of June and July in the daytime, and is normally observed using radio techniques. Between 18 and 29 October, both the Northern Taurids and the Southern Taurids are active ; though the latter stream is stronger. However, between November 1 and 10, the two streams equalize. The brightest member of this constellation is Aldebaran, an orange - hued, spectral class K5 III giant star. Its name derives from الدبران al - dabarān, Arabic for `` the follower '', probably from the fact that it follows the Pleiades during the nightly motion of the celestial sphere across the sky. Forming the profile of a Bull 's face is a V or K - shaped asterism of stars. This outline is created by prominent members of the Hyades, the nearest distinct open star cluster after the Ursa Major Moving Group. In this profile, Aldebaran forms the bull 's bloodshot eye, which has been described as `` glaring menacingly at the hunter Orion '', a constellation that lies just to the southwest. The Hyades span about 5 ° of the sky, so that they can only be viewed in their entirety with binoculars or the unaided eye. It includes a naked eye double star, Theta Tauri, with a separation of 5.6 arcminutes. In the northeastern quadrant of the Taurus constellation lie the Pleiades ( M45 ), one of the best known open clusters, easily visible to the naked eye. The seven most prominent stars in this cluster are at least visual magnitude six, and so the cluster is also named the `` Seven Sisters ''. However, many more stars are visible with even a modest telescope. Astronomers estimate that the cluster has approximately 500 - 1,000 stars, all of which are around 100 million years old. However, they vary considerably in type. The Pleiades themselves are represented by large, bright stars ; also many small brown dwarfs and white dwarfs exist. The cluster is estimated to dissipate in another 250 million years. The Pleiades cluster is classified as a Shapley class c and Trumpler class I 3 rn cluster, indicating that it is irregularly shaped and loose, though concentrated at its center and detached from the star field. In the northern part of the constellation to the northwest of the Pleiades lies the Crystal Ball Nebula, known by its catalogue designation of NGC 1514. This planetary nebula is of historical interest following its discovery by German - born English astronomer William Herschel in 1790. Prior to that time, astronomers had assumed that nebulae were simply unresolved groups of stars. However, Herschel could clearly resolve a star at the center of the nebula that was surrounded by a nebulous cloud of some type. In 1864, English astronomer William Huggins used the spectrum of this nebula to deduce that the nebula is a luminous gas, rather than stars. To the west, the two horns of the bull are formed by Beta ( β ) Tauri and Zeta ( ζ ) Tauri ; two star systems that are separated by 8 °. Beta is a white, spectral class B7 III giant star known as El Nath, which comes from the Arabic phrase `` the butting '', as in butting by the horns of the bull. At magnitude 1.65, it is the second brightest star in the constellation, and shares the border with the neighboring constellation of Auriga. As a result, it also bears the designation Gamma Aurigae. Zeta Tauri is an eclipsing binary star that completes an orbit every 133 days. Brightest NGC objects in Taurus Identifier Mag. Object type NGC 1514 10.9 planetary nebula NGC 1647 6.4 open cluster NGC 1746 6 asterism NGC 1817 7.7 open cluster NGC 1952 8.4 supernova remnant ( M1 ) A degree to the northwest of ζ Tauri is the Crab Nebula ( M1 ), a supernova remnant. This expanding nebula was created by a Type II supernova explosion, which was seen from Earth on July 4, 1054. It was bright enough to be observed during the day, and is mentioned in Chinese historical texts. At its peak the supernova reached magnitude − 4, but the nebula is currently magnitude 8.4 and requires a telescope to observe. North American peoples also observed the supernova, as evidenced from a painting on a New Mexican canyon and various pieces of pottery that depict the event. However, the remnant itself was not discovered until 1731, when John Bevis found it. The star Lambda ( λ ) Tauri is an eclipsing binary star. This system consists of a spectral class B3 star being orbited by a less massive class A4 star. The plane of their orbit lies almost along the line of sight to the Earth. Every 3.953 days the system temporarily decreases in brightness by 1.1 magnitudes as the brighter star is partially eclipsed by the dimmer companion. The two stars are separated by only 0.1 astronomical units, so their shapes are modified by mutual tidal interaction. This results in a variation of their net magnitude throughout each orbit. Central area of constellation Taurus, showing Aldebaran at the lower left. Located about 1.8 ° west of Epsilon ( ε ) Tauri is T Tauri, the prototype of a class of variable stars called T Tauri stars. This star undergoes erratic changes in luminosity, varying between magnitude 9 to 13 over a period of weeks or months. This is a newly formed stellar object that is just emerging from its envelope of gas and dust, but has not yet become a main sequence star. The surrounding reflection nebula NGC 1555 is illuminated by T Tauri, and thus is also variable in luminosity. To the north lies Kappa Tauri, a visual double star consisting of two A7 - type components. The pair have a separation of just 5.6 arc minutes, making them a challenge to split with the naked eye. This constellation includes part of the Taurus - Auriga complex, or Taurus dark clouds, a star - forming region containing sparse, filamentary clouds of gas and dust. This spans a diameter of 98 light - years ( 30 parsecs ) and contains 35,000 solar masses of material, which is both larger and less massive than the Orion Nebula. At a distance of 490 light - years ( 150 parsecs ), this is one of the nearest active star forming regions. Located in this region, about 10 ° to the northeast of Aldebaran, is an asterism NGC 1746 spanning a width of 45 arcminutes. History and mythology See also : Bull ( 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. 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. 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. 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 GU.AN.NA, `` The Bull of Heaven ''. 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 ''. The Akkadian name was Alu. In the Old Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar sends Taurus, the Bull of Heaven, to kill Gilgamesh for spurning her advances. 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, 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. The same iconic representation of the Heavenly Bull was depicted in the Dendera zodiac, an Egyptian bas - relief carving in a ceiling that depicted the celestial hemisphere using a planisphere. In these ancient cultures, the orientation of the horns was portrayed as upward or backward. This differed from the later Greek depiction where the horns pointed forward. To the Egyptians, the constellation Taurus was a sacred bull that was associated with the renewal of life in spring. When the spring equinox entered Taurus, the constellation would become covered by the Sun in the western sky as spring began. This `` sacrifice '' led to the renewal of the land. To the early Hebrews, Taurus was the first constellation in their zodiac and consequently it was represented by the first letter in their alphabet, Aleph. In Greek mythology, Taurus was identified with Zeus, who assumed the form of a magnificent white bull to abduct Europa, a legendary Phoenician princess. In illustrations of Greek mythology, only the front portion of this constellation are depicted ; this was sometimes explained as Taurus being partly submerged as he carried Europa out to sea. A second Greek myth portrays Taurus as Io, a mistress of Zeus. To hide his lover from his wife Hera, Zeus changed Io into the form of a heifer. Greek mythographer Acusilaus marks the bull Taurus as the same that formed the myth of the Cretan Bull, one of The Twelve Labors of Heracles. Taurus became an important object of worship among the Druids. Their Tauric religious festival was held while the Sun passed through the constellation. Among the arctic people known as the Inuit, the constellation is called Sakiattiat and the Hyades is Nanurjuk, with the latter representing the spirit of the polar bear. Aldebaran represents the bear, with the remainder of the stars in the Hyades being dogs that are holding the beast at bay. In Buddhism, legends hold that Gautama Buddha was born when the Full Moon was in Vaisakha, or Taurus. Buddha 's birthday is celebrated with the Wesak Festival, or Vesākha, which occurs on the first or second Full Moon when the Sun is in Taurus. Astrology Main article : Taurus ( astrology ) As of 2008, the Sun appears in the constellation Taurus from May 13 to June 21. In tropical astrology, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Taurus from April 20 to May 20. Space exploration The space probe Pioneer 10 is moving in the direction of this constellation, though it will not be nearing any of the stars in this constellation for many thousands of years, by which time its batteries will be long dead. Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 Several stars in Hyades cluster include Kappa Tauri were photographed during Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 by the expedition of Arthur Eddington in Príncipe and others in Sobral, Brazil that confirmed Albert Einstein 's prediction of the bending of light around the Sun from his general theory of relativity which he published in 1915. See also Pleiades in folklore and literature Taurus ( Chinese astronomy ) White Tiger of The West Notes Jump up ^ Stars with candidate extrasolar planets : Epsilon Tauri, Gliese 176, HD 24040, HD 37124, 2M J044144, LkCa 15, HD 28678, HD 285507, HL Tauri, and FW Tauri. Jump up ^ This is Gliese 176. 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Stars and planets guide. London : Collins. ISBN 978 - 0 - 00 - 725120 - 9. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to : Taurus ( constellation ) ( category ) Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Taurus. The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations : Taurus BBC article on the possibility of Taurus being represented in Lascaux Star Tales -- Taurus Warburg Institute Iconographic Database ( over 300 medieval and early modern images of Taurus ) Stars of Taurus Bayer α ( Aldebaran ) β ( Elnath ) γ ( Prima Hyadum ) δ ( Secunda Hyadum ) δ δ ε ( Ain ) ζ ( Tianguan ) η ( Alcyone ) θ θ ι κ κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω ω Flamsteed 4 ( s ) 5 ( f ) 6 ( t ) 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 ( Celaeno ) 17 ( Electra ) 18 19 ( Taygeta ) 20 ( Maia ) 21 ( Asterope ) 22 ( Asterope II ) 23 ( Merope ) 24 26 27 ( Atlas ) 28 ( Pleione ) 29 ( u ) 30 ( e ) 31 32 33 36 37 ( A ) 39 ( A ) 40 41 44 ( p ) 45 46 47 48 51 53 55 56 57 ( h ) 58 60 62 63 66 ( r ) 70 71 72 75 76 79 ( b ) 80 81 83 84 85 88 ( d ) 89 90 ( c ) 93 95 96 97 ( i ) 98 ( k ) 99 101 103 104 ( m ) 105 106 ( i ) 107 108 109 ( n ) 110 111 113 114 ( o ) 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 139 140 49 Eri Variable Y Z RR RV RW RY RZ SU SV SZ TU UX UZ VY XX XZ AA AH BP CD CI CQ CT CU CW CY DD DF DG DH DI DL DM DN DO DQ DR DS EQ EU FN FS FV GG GI GK GV HK HL HU IK V410 V471 V473 V479 V534 V624 V647 V650 V710 V711 V731 V766 V773 V774 V781 V807 V818 V819 V826 V827 V827 V830 V833 V834 V836 V837 V892 V987 V1038 V1062 V1116 V1137 V1141 V1143 V1156 V1187 V1229 V1232 V1241 HR 1023 1028 1039 1067 1085 1089 1102 1103 1110 1119 1137 1159 1172 1183 1185 1188 1201 1222 1224 1233 1237 1238 1253 1254 1257 1279 1280 1284 1295 1307 1310 1315 1349 1354 1358 1360 1370 1385 1400 1402 1403 1406 1413 1425 1427 1436 1442 1445 1446 1448 1455 1477 1480 1490 1512 1517 1554 1566 1575 1585 1633 1642 1741 1750 1755 1831 1847 1860 1878 1902 1921 1929 1954 2013 2074 HD 21032 21585 23514 23712 24040 24368 24496 26292 27860 28086 28375 28678 29627 29647 37124 38263 38524 285507 Gliese Gliese 176 Other A0535 + 26 BD + 24 692 Butterfly star CoKu Tau / 4 Crab Pulsar Elias 16 Elias 18 GD 71 Haro 6 - 37 HBC 379 HH 30 HII 686 HII 1306 HII 1883 HII 3163 HL Tau 76 HP Tau / G2 Hubble I 4 HZ 9 IRAS 04239 + 2436 IRAS 04248 + 2612 IRAS 04325 + 2402 IRAS 04381 + 2540 L1489 IRS L1527 L1551 IRS 5 L1521F - IRS LkCa 15 2MASS J03552337 + 1133437 2MASS J04414489 + 2301513 MWC 758 PSR B0525 + 21 PSR B0540 + 23 PSR J0348 + 0432 PSR J0538 + 2813 Teide 1 TMR - 1 TMC - 1A WD 0346 + 246 WISE 0410 + 1502 List The 88 modern constellations Andromeda Antlia Apus Aquarius Aquila Ara Aries Auriga Boötes Caelum Camelopardalis Cancer Canes Venatici Canis Major Canis Minor Capricornus Carina Cassiopeia Centaurus Cepheus Cetus Chamaeleon Circinus Columba Coma Berenices Corona Australis Corona Borealis Corvus Crater Crux Cygnus Delphinus Dorado Draco Equuleus Eridanus Fornax Gemini Grus Hercules Horologium Hydra Hydrus Indus Lacerta Leo Leo Minor Lepus Libra Lupus Lynx Lyra Mensa Microscopium Monoceros Musca Norma Octans Ophiuchus Orion Pavo Pegasus Perseus Phoenix Pictor Pisces Piscis Austrinus Puppis Pyxis Reticulum Sagitta Sagittarius Scorpius Sculptor Scutum Serpens Sextans Taurus Telescopium Triangulum Triangulum Australe Tucana Ursa Major Ursa Minor Vela Virgo Volans Vulpecula Lists of constellations Constellation history The 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy after 150 AD Andromeda Aquarius Aquila Ara Argo Navis Aries Auriga Boötes Cancer Canis Major Canis Minor Capricornus Cassiopeia Centaurus Cepheus Cetus Corona Australis Corona Borealis Corvus Crater Cygnus Delphinus Draco Equuleus Eridanus Gemini Hercules Hydra Leo Lepus Libra Lupus Lyra Ophiuchus Orion Pegasus Perseus Pisces Piscis Austrinus Sagitta Sagittarius Scorpius Serpens Taurus Triangulum Ursa Major Ursa Minor Virgo The 41 additional constellations added in the 16th and 17th centuries Vespucci or Corsalius early 16c : Crux Triangulum Australe Vopel 1536 : Coma Berenices Keyser & de Houtman 1596 : Apus Chamaeleon Dorado Grus Hydrus Indus Musca Pavo Phoenix Tucana Volans Plancius 1613 : Camelopardalis Columba Monoceros Habrecht 1621 : Reticulum Hevelius 1683 : Canes Venatici Lacerta Leo Minor Lynx Scutum Sextans Vulpecula de Lacaille 1763 : Antlia Caelum Carina Circinus Fornax Horologium Mensa Microscopium Norma Octans Pictor Puppis Pyxis Sculptor Telescopium Vela Obsolete constellations ( including Ptolemy 's Argo Navis ) Anser Antinous Apes Argo Navis Asterion Cancer Minor Cerberus Chara Custos Messium Felis Frederici Honores / Gloria Frederici Gallus Globus Aerostaticus Jordanus Lilium Lochium Funis Machina Electrica Malus Mons Maenalus Musca Borealis Noctua Officina Typographica Polophylax Psalterium Georgianum / Harpa Georgii Quadrans Muralis Ramus Pomifer Robur Carolinum Sceptrum Brandenburgicum Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae Solarium Rangifer / Tarandus Taurus Poniatovii Telescopium Herschelii Testudo Tigris Triangulum Minus Turdus Solitarius Vespa Vultur cadens Vultur volans obsolete constellation names Apis Phoenicopterus Serpentarius Xiphias The Zodiac Astrological signs Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Alternative signs Ophiuchus Cetus Orion Western astrology House Triplicity Mode Cardinal Fixed Mutable Binary Positive Negative Related Astronomy Axial precession Constellations of the Ecliptic Ecliptic coordinate system Planets in astrology Zodiacal light Coordinates : 04 00 00, + 15 ° 00 ′ 00 '' LCCN : sh2014000881 GND : 4057531 - 7 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taurus_(constellation)&oldid=806625137 '' Categories : Taurus ( constellation ) Constellations Western astrology Equatorial constellations Constellations listed by Ptolemy Hidden categories : Articles containing Arabic - language text Articles containing Sumerian - language text Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2008 All articles containing potentially dated statements Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Good articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikimedia Commons Afrikaans Aragonés Asturianu Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Башҡортса Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Corsu Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Kiswahili Kurdî Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Limburgs Magyar Македонски മലയാളം مازِرونی Bahasa Melayu Mìng - 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Question: where is taurus the bull in the night sky
Answer: northern hemisphere's winter sky