TaurusConstellation:

The Bull

Ursa Major Tauri

Abbreviation Tau 4 stars with known planets 2 Messier Objects

M1 & M45 2 meteor showers

Taurids Late Oct/early Nov

Beta Taurids June/July Tunguska?

Taurus One of oldest recognized constellations

appeared beginning of spring between 4000 and 1800 BC

signaled start of new year bull, symbol of strength & fertility

figures prominently in mythology of nearly all early civilizations

Taurus Ancient Egypt

Apis, Bull of Memphis served as earthly vessel of soul of Osiris, god of Sun

& Nile

possibly inspiration for Cretan Minotaur Sumerian sacred “bull of light” possibly Golden Calf of Israel

Taurus Classical Greece: Zeus in disguise of white

bull with golden horns seduced & abducted Europa in this form

swam away with her to Crete; which is why we see only the forequarters in the constellation

Often thought to be charging Orion

Taurus Hyades ‘Υάδες

these nymphs were sisters, chosen by Zeus to care for his child Dionysus

Pleiades “sailing stars” by Greeks; storms were too

likely if they were not in the sky

Taurus Aldebaran (a Tau)

derived from the Arabic الدبران al-dabarān meaning "the follower“

closely follows Pleiades cluster across the sky

Taurus Aldebaran (a Tau)

K5 III star orangish, large used up all its hydrogen fuel minor companion (dim M2)

Taurus Aldebaran (a Tau)

K5 III star ~65 ly away ~38 times diameter of Sun ; ~150 times brighter 14th brightest star; apparent magnitude 0.87

Taurus Aldebaran (a Tau)

astrologically fortunate, portending riches & honor

one of the four “royal stars” of Persians (4000 BC)

Aldebaran (a Tau) Regulus (a Leo) Antares (a Sco) Fomalhaut (a Pis)

Taurus Crab nebula

M 1/NGC 1952 supernova remnant

visible in day 1054 China & Middle East

6300 ly away pulsar in center

Taurus Crab nebula

M 1/NGC 1952 supernova remnant

visible in day 1054 China & Middle East

6300 ly away pulsar in center

HST & X-ray imagery

Taurus

Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising thro’ the mellow shadeGlitter like a swarm of fireflies, tangled in a silver braid.

Tennyson

Taurus Pleiades

M45 open cluster

~440 ly away ~12 ly across around 500 stars dominated by young blue stars

important in distance scales

Taurus Pleiades

Seven Sisters of Greek mythology Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygete, Celaeno and

Alcyone parents Atlas and Pleione as daughters of Atlas, Hyades were sisters of the

Pleiades

Taurus Pleiades

Comet Machholz passes the Pleiades early 2005

Taurus Pleiades

Tortoise in Japanese folklore Subaru

Taurus Nebra sky disk

Bronze 1600 BC One of oldest representations

of cosmos

Taurus Hyades

Nearest star cluster 151 ly

Hipparcos data ~625 million years old

Taurus Hipparcos

High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite European Space Agency (ESA) 1989-1993

Hipparcos Catalog 118,218 stars with 1-3 mas astrometry

Tycho-2 Catalog 2,539,913 of brightest stars (~500 visible to naked

eye) 99% complete to mV ~ 11.0

90% complete to mV ~ 11.5

Taurus

Taurus

Applause