Taurus (constellation)
Taurus (means bull in latin) is one of the largest and well-known zodiac constellations. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere.
| Constellation | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | Tau[1] |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Tauri[1] |
| Pronunciation | /ˈtɔːrəs/ TOR-əs; genitive /ˈtɔːraɪ/ TOR-eye[1][2] |
| Symbolism | the Bull[1] |
| Right ascension | 4.9h[3] |
| Declination | 19°[3] |
| Quadrant | NQ1 |
| Area | 797 sq. deg. (17th) |
| Main stars | 19 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 132 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 4 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 3 |
| Brightest star | Aldebaran (α Tau) (0.85m) |
| Messier objects | 2 |
| Meteor showers | |
| Bordering constellations | |
| Visible at latitudes between +90° and −60°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of January. | |
Characteristics
[change | change source]Taurus is a large and well-known constellation in the Northern Hemisphere's winter sky. It is located between Aries and Gemini. To the north of Taurus lies Perseus and Auriga, to the southeast Orion, to the south Eridanus, and to the southwest Cetus.
During late november and early december, Taurus reaches opposition, which means furthest point from the Sun, and is visible all night. By late March, it begins to set at sunset and from May and July it is completely hidden by the Sun's glare.[4]
Taurus forms part of the zodiac constellations, so the Sun appears to pass through it during the year as seen from Earth. As the orbital plane of the Moon and the planets are located near the ecliptic, they can usually be found in the constellation Taurus during some part of each year.[4] The galactic plane of the Milky Way passes through the northeast corner of the constellation. 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.[5]
The official short form for Taurus is "Tau".[6] The constellation boundaries were set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders are located between 03h 23.4m and 05h 53.3m, while the declination coordinates are between 31.10° and −1.35°.[7] Because a small part of the constellation lies to the south of the celestial equator. The constellation cannot be a completely circumpolar constellation at any latitude.[8]
History
[change | change source]Taurus is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to the Early Bronze Age, when the Sun was located in the constellation during the spring equinox.
Cultural Significance
[change | change source]Taurus was important to the agricultural calendar. It influenced many bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Symbol
[change | change source]The traditional astrological symbol for Taurus is (♉︎), which looks similar to a bull's head.
Important features
[change | change source]Taurus contains many important objects. It includes two of the nearest open star clusters to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, both visible to the naked eye.
The brightest star in Taurus is Aldebaran.
In the northeast part of Taurus lies the Crab Nebula (Messier 1), a supernova remnant that contains the Crab Pulsar.
The constellation also includes part of the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. The variable star T Tauri is an example of a young star.
Space exploration
[change | change source]The space probe Pioneer 10 is moving in the direction of Taurus. But the probe will not reach any of the stars in this constellation for many thousands of years. When it gets closer to the stars of this constellation, its batteries will be already dead.[9]
Astrology
[change | change source]As of 2008, the Sun appears in the constellation Taurus from May 13 to June 21.[10] In tropical astrology, the Sun is thought to be in the astrologival sign Taurus from April 20 to May 20.[11]
References
[change | change source]- 1 2 3 4 "The constellations". IAU. Archived from the original on 2009-05-12. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
- ↑ "Taurus". Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
- 1 2 Schaefer, Bradley E. (November 2002). "The latitude and epoch for the formation of the southern Greek constellations". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 33 (113): 313–350. Bibcode:2002JHA....33..313S. doi:10.1177/002182860203300401. S2CID 122459258.
- 1 2 Garfinkle, Robert A. (1997). Star-hopping: your visa to viewing the Universe. Cambridge University Press. pp. 66–67, 77. ISBN 978-0-521-59889-7.
- ↑ Crossen, Craig; Rhemann, Gerald (2004). Sky vistas: astronomy for binoculars and richest-field telescopes. Springer. p. 133. ISBN 978-3-211-00851-5.
- ↑ Russell, Henry Norris (1922). "The new international symbols for the constellations". Popular Astronomy. 30: 469–71. Bibcode:1922PA.....30..469R.
- ↑ "Taurus, constellation boundary". The Constellations. International Astronomical Union. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
- ↑ Seeds, Michael A. (2007). Foundations of Astronomy (10th ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-495-38724-4.
- ↑ Mewhinney, Michael (February 25, 2003), Pioneer 10 Spacecraft Sends Last Signal, NASA, archived from the original on 2012-06-28, retrieved 2015-11-04.
- ↑ Comins, Neil F.; Kaufmann, William J. (2008). Discovering the Universe: from the stars to the planets. Macmillan. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4292-3042-1.
- ↑ Sharp, Damian (2005). Learning astrology: an astrology book for beginners. Weiser. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-57863-298-5.