Elizabeth Covington, ASTR 103A, COW, Week 2

History: Taurus is one of the

Myth: According to Greek mythology,

the constellation Taurus commemorates
the god Zeus changing himself into a
beautiful white Bull to win the affections
of the Phoenician princess Europa. After
hopping onto the Bulls back, the Bull
swam across the Mediterranean Sea,
taking Europa all the way to the Island
of Crete. Zeus and Europa became the
parents of Minos, the legendary king of
Crete

48 Greek constellations listed

by Ptolemy in the Almagest
which was published in 1515,
and is one of the largest
constellations in the sky. The
Hyades cluster makes up the
V shape of the bulls head.
the Hyades are one of the
most important star groups in
the sky, because all of the
clusters stars share a
common motion.

Location in the sky: Taurus is visible in the

Northern Hemisphere in Autumn, and winter and
is visible in the Southern hemisphere during late
spring and through summer (appears upside
down). It is best visible in January, and covers
797 square degrees
Right Ascension: 4 hours
Declination: 15 degrees
Best visible between latitudes 90 degrees and
minus 65 degrees

Special Stars: The Taurus constellation is home to

several notable stars and clusters.
Aldebaran (Also known as Alpha Tauri,
Aldebaran is around 65 light years from Earth and is
the brightest star in the constellation, it's a red giant
star with around 45 times the diameter of our sun.),
Elnath (Also known as Beta Tauri, as
the star lies on the border of Taurus and Auriga it is
sometimes referred to as Gamma Aurigae, Elnath is
a blue giant star around 130 light years from
Earth.),
Crab Nebula (otherwise known as M1
is the result of a massive supernova explosion that
was witnessed by far eastern astronomers in the 11th
century, nebulae which are born in this violent
fashion are known as supernova remnants. The Crab
Nebula is vast, perhaps around 10 light years across
and lies around 6,000 light years from Earth.), and
Pleiades(Also known as M45 or Seven
Sisters, the Pleiades is a star cluster that can be
viewed with the naked eye. The cluster is made up
of young and extremely bright stars that began
forming around 100 million years ago. At a distance
of around 400 light years away it is one of the
closest star clusters to Earth, the Pleiades contains
hundreds of stars and is more than 10 light years
across.)

Taken 12/24/2012 by Jerry Lodigruss

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http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121224.html
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2016, from http://earthsky.org/constellations/taurus-heres-your-constellation Constellations
Ridpath, I. (n.d.). Star Tales Taurus. Retrieved August 19, 2016, from
http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/taurus.htm
Ridpath, I. (n.d.). Star Tales Ptolemy's Almagest. Retrieved August 19, 2016, from
http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/almagest.htm
Sir Edmund Halley and The Pleiades Anomaly. (2007). Retrieved August 19, 2016, from
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/pleyades/esp_pleyades_31.htm
Taurus Constellation - Facts About Taurus | Solarsystemquick.com. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2016,
from http://www.solarsystemquick.com/universe/taurus-constellation.htm
Taurus Constellation: Facts About the Bull. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2016, from
http://www.space.com/17101-taurus-constellation.html