Taurus constellation
Latin Taurus, genitive Tauri, abbreviation Tau
North up, east to the left, as you see the sky. The lines are a common figure; the stars are from the catalogue.
The myth
Zeus as a white bull who carried the princess Europa across the sea to Crete; the continent bears her name. Its eye is red Aldebaran, 'the follower', following the Pleiades. The V of its head is the Hyades cluster; on its back lie the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, in which good eyes count six or seven stars.
When can Taurus be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in December. It can be seen from everywhere north of 66°S, and it never sets north of 90°N.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldebaran | α Tau | 0.85 | reddish |
| Elnath | β Tau | 1.65 | bluish |
| Alcyone | η Tau | 2.87 | bluish |
| Tianguan | ζ Tau | 3.00 | bluish |
| Chamukuy | θ2 Tau | 3.40 | white |
| – | λ Tau | 3.47 | bluish |
| Ain | ε Tau | 3.53 | orange |
| – | ο Tau | 3.60 | yellow |
The smaller the number, the brighter: below 1 are the brightest stars of the sky, 4 is hard to see under a city sky. Greek letters after Johann Bayer (1603).
Constellation and zodiac sign
The constellation Taurus and the zodiac sign of the same name are not the same. The signs divide the Sun's path into twelve equal parts of 30 degrees, counted from the vernal equinox; the constellations differ in size, and because the Earth's axis slowly wobbles, they now lie almost one sign further on.