How To Find Taurus: The Bull Constellation In The Night Sky

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com to learn more about our online classes we offer. Welcome, my name is Janine and in this  video we will review the constellation known as Taurus. Taurus is represented as a bull and it's  an ancient constellation whose earliest records date back as far as 17,000 years ago.

There are  legends about Taurus that appear in ancient Mesopotamia mythologies, Egyptian Greek, Roman, and  Polynesian cultures, plus many more. The named Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and it's known for its two  famous star clusters, the Pleiades right here, and the Hyades. It's a zodiacal constellation,  which means that the Sun passes through its boundaries.

So when can you see Taurus? Taurus is  best seen in the winter months in the northern hemisphere. The way I'm always able to find Taurus  is by identifying the Pleiades star cluster and then I also look for the bright red star called  Aldebaran.

I can also use the belt stars of Orion to help direct me towards Taurus. This is a fairly  easy constellation to point out. While dark skies are always preferred, it is one that can be seen  with a fair amount of light pollution in the sky.

Let's review the pattern that Taurus makes across  the sky. Here we have the official star map of Taurus released by the International Astronomical Union,  and there's a few things to notice. First you can see this blue line pass through the boarders of  this constellation, and that's called the ecliptic, which is the path of the Sun.

So some of the  pictures that I will show you throughout this video we'll definitely have some planets within  those pictures that shine brighter than the rest of the stars. Also notice this object right  here, I'll constantly be referring to it as the Pleiades. It's also known as Messier object  45.

There's also Messier object number one, which is a very famous nebula called the Crab Nebula,  which is an old supernova remnant. The brightest star here is called Aldebaran and then there's  another star cluster here called the Hyades. So let's get some practice with how to identify this  constellation.

The first thing that stands out to me as I look at this photo right here is this star  cluster. It has this distinctive little pattern to it, I've even heard people say to me "oh I I always  thought that was the Little Dipper", because it almost does have a Dipper like shape to it, but it  is very condensed and the big the Little Dipper is much larger than this as well. The other thing  that stands out to me right here is this orangish red type star and that's called Aldebaran.

I also  noticed this v-shaped face of the bull and that his horns come off from here and then from here. So  if I were to point out the official star pattern this is what it looks like, often I've seen other  patterns that don't include these sheep shapes down here but really just the horns, the face, and  the shoulder of the bull. Always remember that there are different, there's a variety of patterns  that are out there, so whenever I'm trying to study the constellations I usually refer to the official  recognized star pattern which comes from the IAU, the International Astronomical Union.

So here's  another picture, and hopefully what stands out to you now is this really bright spot, but this is  not a planet but rather the moon, and the way you can tell is that it's just a much larger size than  everything else here in this photograph, but this is a good reminder that the Moon Sun and planets  all pass through Taurus because the ecliptic passes through it, which really is that plane of  the solar system, and the path of the Sun. Also you should know it as the Pleiades, the v-shaped face,  the horns that come off here as well, and then the red eye of the bull. So if we were to point this  out that's what this star pattern looks like.

So this one I feel is one to easily memorize because  it has so many memorable features of it, including the v-shaped face, and the Pleiades. Moving on we're  gonna get some more practice. This doesn't show you the entire constellation but a good portion of it. 

You should be able to see the Pleiades, as well as the v-shaped face, and Aldebaran. So here is what  that part of the constellation looks like, and this this star cluster right here the Hyades is we'll  learn about it a little bit later but it's a very close open star cluster towards that is located  pretty close to the earth. So if we were to zoom in on the Pleiades, that's what it looks like up  close, and you can see how some people say oh it kind of looks like a tiny little Dipper here, and  I agree sometimes it does but just know that this shape is really just the shape of the open star  cluster, and then the Hyades, located right here, that's another open star cluster that's located  within the face of Taurus, but remember this bright star right here, Aldebaran is not a part of  the Hyades, it's just kind of positioned near in front of it in terms of how its oriented in the  sky.

Another way to find Taurus is using Orion. So here you have Orion, and you can use the belt  stars to kind of aim you up towards Taurus, again notice this bright spot, this is the moon that's  passing through Taurus. Now Orion is not as a zodiacal constellation so the Sun, Moon, and stars do not  pass through it.

You probably notice the Pleiades and then here is that v-shaped face of Taurus. Taurus  is one of those few constellations that I actually have a lot of pictures of because it's a great  constellation to take a photograph of. It has a lot of interesting features.

So here we have another  photograph, we have Orion, Taurus, we have Gemini here, and a part of Auriga. So the first thing that  stands out to me is Orion right here, you can use the belt stars, I like this photo because it shows  you, use the belt stars to aim you towards Taurus. So here's that v-shaped face, with the two horns,  and then right here is the Pleiades.

We've got a few more pictures to look at to help give you some  practice when it comes to finding Taurus. Hopefully what stands out to you here is that Pleiades  star cluster. Sometimes called the Seven Sisters and that relates to back to a Greek myth about  this group of stars, then you have the v-shape face with Aldebaron on the red eye of the bull, and  then you have two horns right here that come off the face of the bull.

Another photograph, when we're  looking at this two things stand out to me, we have the Pleiades, and then we have the v-shaped face  of Taurus. Now one other thing to notice about Taurus is that it's actually one of its stars  right here is connected to another constellation called Auriga, sometimes pronounced Auriga, and  we're gonna take a look at that in just a little bit, but Auriga kind of has this Pentagon like  shape to it and Taurus shares one of the stars with this constellation. Now Taurus is also a part  of an asterism called the Winter Hexagon and this is not a true constellation, but a pattern that  we can see that connects the brightest stars of different constellations.

Sometimes it is  challenging to point out this asterism simply simply because it's so large in the sky. So if  we were to try to point it out that's where the Winter Hexagon is, it connects all these different  stars. We have Pollux, and Capella, Aldebaran right here, we have Rigel, down here Sirius, and Procyon,  and I forgot this one that one is Compella, and if we were going to point out all the constellations  that are part of the Winter Hexagon, here you can see Taurus is a part of it, and then it's connected  to Auriga, then Gemini, Canis Minor, Canis Major, or at least a portion of it, and then Orion.

This  picture is really a great picture for you to study so you can become familiar with where the  different constellations are in the sky in the winter months. So remember that Taurus is one of  those constellations that's fairly easy to point out in the sky, and you can also use it to help you  point out other constellations in the sky. I always try to find the Pleiades whenever I'm looking for  Aries, which is the constellation kind of in this direction, and then I use the Pleiades knowing that  Auriga is nearby as well.

Next we'll take a look at the three brightest stars of Taurus. The first  is Aldebaran, and this is a red giant star that's estimated to be 65 light-years away from Earth.  It's four hundred times more luminous than the Sun, and it rotates every 520 days.

It's also known  as Alpha Tauri or the Alpha star of a constellation Taurus. It's Arabic name means 'the follower' and the  Arabic name is really this one Aldebaran. What's also interesting is it does have an exoplanet  around it called Aldebaran B, and it's a Jupiter-like planet, which means it's really hot and made out of  gas.

Next is another star called Elnath, and this is a blue giant star estimated to be 134 light  years away, and this is the co-existing star with Auriga, which is why it's called Gamma Aurigae  star. So it has some alternative names Al Nath is another one, which is similar to this name right  here, and it is an Arabic name meaning 'the budding' probably having to do with the bull's horns. It's  the beta star of the constellation, which means it's the second brightest out of everything here.

Finally the third brightest star is called Gamma Tauri, sometimes it's called Hyadum the first this  the Arabic meaning is meeting 'the first of Hyades' I'm not sure I pronounced that correctly but it's  a yellow star estimated to be 154 light-years away. It is a puzzle possible binary system, and the way  to find it is that it really marks the V the tip of the V in the face of Taurus. So these are the  stars that are easiest to point out, but of course I would say the Pleiades is another great object  to find, but it's not just one star but a cluster of them.

Let's take a look at the celestial  objects that sit in the boundaries of Taurus. There are a few objects to focus on. We have the  Pleiades here, an m1 or Messier one but I want to use another map to examine this because it shows a  little bit more in detail of what's located within Taurus.

The main points to focus on of course  are the Pleiades right here, and the Hyades and this picture shows both of those together and in  one photograph. The other wants to focus on our Messier object one which is a supernova remnant,  right here and then the Crystal Ball Nebula is another interesting object to see as well. However  with Messier one and the Crystal Ball Nebula you would definitely need magnification in order  to see these two celestial objects.

There's a few other points of interest throughout Taurus, but  like Messier one in the Crystal Ball Nebula you would definitely need magnification in order to  see. However with the Hyades you can see how big it is, you can see it with the unaided eye as well  as the Pleiades. Now we'll take a closer look at these two open star clusters.

We have the Hyades  to the left, and the Pleiades down towards the bottom right. Rremember that Aldebaran right here is  not a part of the Hyades star cluster and both are classified as open star clusters. The Pleiades  cluster is estimated to be 444 light-years away, so it's fairly close to our own Earth.

The Pleiades  are really just a prominent sight that you can see in the northern hemisphere, and many cultures  throughout time have identified this cluster of stars, and the list goes on it could be the Celts,  the Maori, Aboriginal Australians, the Persians the Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Aztecs, Mayans, the SU,  Cherokee, and I'm sure many more than that I'm mentioning now. Here's a close-up view of what  the Pleiades looks like, and you can see there's some gas and dust that's being illuminated through  the stars in this cluster. I found this beautiful poem written by Laura Tennyson who was a British  poet, he said "Many a night I saw the Pleads, Rising thro' the mellow shade.

Glitter like a swarm  of fireflies, Tangled in a silver braid". So I just really identified with this this poem because it  speaks to the beauty of the Pleiades, in fact one time I was outside stargazing with my own daughter  and I had a pair of binoculars set up on a tripod and had her this and she said "look mommy it's  spirits dancing in the sky" and I just thought that was a really beautiful way for just to see  how a child interprets what they can see through the stars. If we're to zoom up the Pleiades is also  called the Seven Sisters which is relating back to the Greek mythology's, and here are the different  names of these stars within here.

So the seven main ones one two three four five six seven, right  here, and that this is kinda orient to this picture so you can see that they're oriented in the same  fashion. I found another beautiful picture of the Pleiades from the International Space Station,  so here you can kind of see Earth's atmosphere, and the Pleiades is rising, right here, so just a  beautiful gorgeous shot. Pleiades is also called the Seven Sisters as I mentioned, Japanese call  it Subaru, Hawaiians call it Makahiki, on fact when this constellation rises it's the coming of their  new year.

So there are so many different names of this beautiful star cluster, and it one it's one  that I just love to see and I use it to help me point out many other constellations in the sky.  Next the Hyades is an open star cluster. You can see what it looks like here with the exception of  this one, this is Aldebaran and it's very close to us, 153 light-years away, and since it's so close  to us many scientists have studied this particular star cluster.

Other celestial objects in Taurus  include Messier object number one, also called the Crab Nebula, which is a supernova remnant  estimated to be approximately 6,500 light years away. It's located in this portion of Taurus, so  it's in the horn of the bull, but the star that is the least brightest when compared to the other  point of the horn, and this is an ancient remnant of an exploded star, and it has been recorded  in our history from ancient Chinese historical texts, and Native American potteries, that it was  actually seen in 1054 ad. It was bright enough that it could have been seen during the day.

So  that's pretty incredible that this object was something that humans have observed when it did  explode. If we zoom out here we can take a look at what it would look like if you were to observe  it in the sky through a telescope. This picture is slightly digital and digitally enhanced, so you can  see the different features within it but here this is what it would look like if you were to observe  it, and you would need a telescope or a pair of binoculars because its magnitude is only that of  eight, and the human limit is magnitude six.

So if we take a look at the Crab Nebula in different  forms of electromagnetic radiation, this image shows you what is going on with this particular  nebula. So it emits radio waves, microwaves, this is what the heat of it would look like, this is what  we see with visible light, we have ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, and gamma rays as well, and the  reason we see a variety here especially with the x-rays and gamma rays is that there is a pulsar  or a neutron star that's spinning right in the center of this of this nebula. So you kind of see  this this cloud with rays that are coming out of it, and it spins at a rate of about 30 times per  second, and then it emits these different pulses of gamma rays, radio waves, all the different forms  of electromagnetic radiation that we've seen.

We've also detected over 30 different kinds of elements  within this nebula, so it's really one of the most studied supernova remnants and we've learned a lot  about how stars explode, what happens when they do explode, and what's going on inside of them finally. We'll take a look at this planetary nebula called NGC 1514, also called the Crystal Ball Nebula  that's estimated to be 2,200 light years away. It's located near the Pleiades and it really is this interesting  object to see.

You would need magnification to see it because it has a magnitude of about nine  point four, so if you have a pair of binoculars or telescope you can try to find this object in  the sky. Let's examine some of the legends behind Taurus. It is often the stories of the stars that  we can connect to in some way, which can help us remember the constellation.

Our first, oldest known  depiction of tourists dates back as far as 17,000 years ago. This Cave of Lascaux, in France located  right here, contain many ancient Paleolithic cave drawings including bulls, bears, crows, unicorns,  and many many more other drawings. This drawing right here is thought to be of Taurus because  it contains this little cluster of stars that we know to represent as the Pleiades.

These caves were  discovered in 1940 by a group of teenage boys, and for a while it was a very attractive site that had  many visitors, but with so many people visiting the cave there are some lichens and molds and fungal  contamination problems that started. So right now only a few scientists and historians are allowed  to access the Skype at this site. Here is the hall of bulls, that we were discussing.

You can see  right here there's also some horses in here as well. This one kind of looks like a unicorn, and  this is that picture of the bull we were talking about before, that has the seven sister stars.  In ancient Mesopotamia Taurus is depicted in one of the earliest works of literature called the  Epic of Gilgamesh, where the goddess Ishtar sensed Horus the bull of heaven to battle Gilgamesh for  refusing her advances.

In this Mesopotamian legend Gilgamesh was thought to be where Orion sits in  the sky right here, and Taurus is situated right next to this constellation, and these two faced  each other in battle. Other cultures throughout history have also seen a bull within the stars.  To the Sumerian stars may have represented the bull of light, dating back as far as 3500 BC, the  golden calf of the Israelites may have also been a representation of Taurus.

In ancient Egypt the  bull was associated with the deity called Apis. Apis was an actual bull that was chosen as the  earthly vessel of the goddess Osiris, who was the god of the afterlife. On the death of each  Apis the spirit of Osiris transferred himself to a successor.

This sacred bull had specific  markings and characteristics and when this animal was identified it became an object of  reverence and sacrifice. In Greek mythology Zeus was often represented as a white bull, right  here, with golden horns. This painting here shows the abduction of Europa and in the form of the  bull Zeus seduced and abducted her to the island of Crete, where she eventually became a queen,  and king, and mother to the King Minos of Crete.

There are some other legends as well in Greek  mythology in which Taurus has been depicted. It is possible that Taurus was the Cretan Minotaur of  Greek mythology, and that was a creature with the head of a bull but a body of a man, he was known to  live in the labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze that was created at the command of King Minos of  Crete. There are countless representations of the Minotaur in ancient legends as well, and you can  even see them in pop-culture references to this bit day, but this really just goes to show you how  deep the legend of Taurus really goes, but one of my favorite stories of Taurus comes from ancient Polynesian  mythology, and explains how the Pleiades, right here, a beautiful star cluster and Taurus came into  existence, and according to this legend this famous group of stars was once a single star that was  the brightest in all the sky, and the star boast of it his own beauties.

So one day the god Tani  depicted here, picked up the bright red star in Taurus, now called Aldebaran, and hurled it across  the sky at the boastful star and smashing smashing it into many many pieces, and the end result is  what we see now, this very beautiful open star cluster that we call the Pleiades, but remember  the mythologies of the stars vary according to time place and culture. There is no one true  mythology for any constellation just a variety of them. We've come to the end of our video about  Taurus, so let's review everything we've learned so far.

It's best seen in the winter months in  the northern hemisphere and it's classified as a Zodiacal constellation. The best way to  find it is to use the belt stars of Orion to aim you in the direction of this constellation,  but another great way to find it is simply to look for the Pleiades star cluster, which is fairly  easy to point out in the sky. The celestial objects located in Taurus of course include the Pleiades,  the Hyades, you also have Messier object number one, and the Crystal Ball Nebula up in this region  as well.

So I wish you luck trying to find Taurus. To me it's one of the easier constellations to  point out in the sky, and it always takes practice when you're trying to learn the constellations.  Try to seek out dark skies as well to help you see the different features of Taurus.

I wish  you luck keep practicing and keep looking up.