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Notable features One of the few first magnitude stars in the sky, the bright red Aldebaran, sits in the middle of this constellation. The horns of the bull stretch off to the west, marked by β Tau, traditionally shared with Auriga) and ζ Tau. Notable deep sky objects In the east of the constellation lies one of the best known open clusters, easily visible to the eye, the Pleiades. Behind Aldebaran lie the Hyades, the nearest distinct open star cluster, that with it form a V in the sky marking the bull's head. Another object, visible in a telescope, is the Crab Nebula (M1), a supernova remnant northeast of Zeta. The explosion, seen on Earth on July 4, 1054, was bright enough to be seen by day. It is mentioned in Chinese history texts and Native American pottery. Mythology The identification of the constellation of Taurus as a bull may be quite old. Dr Michael Rappenglück of the University of Munich * believes that Taurus is represented in the Hall of the Bulls in the caves at Lascaux. The paintings are some 16,500 years old. One of the painted bulls is near a cluster of dots that looks like the Pleiades, and which is the correct position over its shoulder to be that asterism.* The same pattern is found in pits in the floor, which could have been filled with oil and lit to recreate the lights of the Pleiades inside the cave, though there is no evidence that this actually happened. In Greek mythology, this corresponds with the bull-form Zeus took in order to win Europa, a mythical Phoenician princess, and thus father of Minos. As such, since it is necessary to traverse the area of sky known as the Sea to reach it when passing through the Zodiac, it forms the origin of the myth of the Cretan Bull, one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles. Astrology In Western Astrology the sun is in the sign of Taurus from April 21 to May 20 in the tropical zodiac and May 14 to June 19 in the sidereal zodiac. Notable and named stars Source: The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed., The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA SP-1200 See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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