We begin 2004 with
a journey into the Zodiac, and the realm of Taurus the Bull. Taurus is
located in a rich part of the Winter Milky Way, along with the constellations
Orion, Canis Major and Minor, Gemini, and Auriga. This part of the sky
contains more bright stars than any other. This is because we are looking
towards our neck of the woods. Our solar system is located in the Orion
arm or "spur" of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Taurus is easy to find on a winter's night. Start with Orion, perhaps the most recognixable constellation of them all. Orion is located in the south about halfway between the horizon and the zenith (straight overhead) for Northern Hemisphere observers around 38 degrees latitude. Look up and to the right (north and west) of Orion to find the bright orange-yellow star Aldebaran. Aldebaran is one end of the V-shaped star cluster called the Hyades, which you will read more about below. The Hyades is the face of the bull, with blazing Aldebaran as one eye, staring down his nemesis, Orion. To the northwest of the Hyades lies another star cluster, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, or Subaru in Japanese. (The Subaru automobile company's logo is a cluster of seven stars.) As you can see on the map, Taurus has two long horns, z (zeta) and b (beta). Taurus actually shares Beta with the neighboring constellation Auriga.
Taurus was one of the first Zodiac constellations created. In 4000 B.C., the Vernal or Spring Equinox was located in Taurus (today it resides in Leo.) The Vernal Equinox is one of two days out of the year when day and night are equal throughout the world. (The other is the Fall Equinox). The Vernal Equinox marks the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and had special significance to the Ancient Egyptians. They saw Taurus as their bull-god Apis. The Egyptians used real bulls with certain markings to embody the soul of the bull-god. Each bull was tended by the high priests until it died, and then another was found. In Spring, festivals in honor of Apis were held. This was also the time when the Nile gently overflowed and signalled the beginning of the planting season.
In this larger, more detailed view, (adapted from Norton's Sky Atlas 2000.0), we'll take a closer look at some of the interesting sights in Taurus. Our tour goes in order of Right Ascension, which is right to left on this map. The symbols below show how an object is best viewed:
with your naked eye;
with binoculars,
and
with a telescope.
NGC 1647.
This large, loose open cluster is visible from all but the most light polluted skies. It spans 45 arc minutes, which is bigger than the moon. NGC 1647 is shaped like a derby (hat). The "brim" of the derby is a vague line of stars a little brighter than the rest. The 2 brightest stars of the brim are of equal brightness with a hint of orange color.
The Hyades. This large open cluster is the nearest of its kind to earth at a distance of 130 light years. The bright star Aldebaran is actually not part of the cluster; it lies in our line of sight at only 68 light years away. In Greek mythology, The Hyades were sisters of Hyas, a great hunter whose death they mourned. The girls were chosen by Zeus to care for his child Dionysus (goddess of Wine) when her mother died. Zeus placed the sisters into the sky for their service and pity for their grief, and there they continue to weep for their brother.