Taurus Constellation | Facts, stars and myths – Map of My Heaven

The Taurus Constellation is one of the oldest of all the cataloged constellations and like the other constellations, it is located on the Ecliptic. It is easily seen, both due to its positioning and its bright stars.

Furthermore, it is where we find some famous objects, such as the Pleiades cluster, the star Aldebarã and also the Crab Nebula.

See all the astronomical facts about the Taurus Constellation, as well as the history of mythology regarding this constellation!

How to locate the Taurus Constellation?

As we said, it is one of the easiest constellations to find!
Located in the northern hemisphere, it ranks 17th in terms of size, among all 88 cataloged constellations.

Therefore, it is between the constellations of Aries and Gemini and also close to the Constellation of Orion. In other words, you can look for Três Marias and find your way from there.

Here in Brazil you can see better to the east in the summer, when its stars reach their maximum brightness!

In addition to being able to locate the stars through astronomical applications, another factor means that there is no difficulty in finding them.

The Pleiades, a famous cluster that we will discuss next.

What are the Pleiades?

Also known as the Pleiades cluster or Messier 45 (M45), it is a group of very bright stars, surrounded by cosmic dust.

More than 500 stars are part of this cluster, but seven of them stand out for their intense, bluish glow. They are: Merope, Maia, Alcione, Asterope, Electra, Taigete and Celeno.

Therefore, the so-called Seven Sisters are hot blue stars, surrounded by a reflection nebula, which is a cloud of cosmic dust that reflects the light of nearby stars.

Without a doubt, a spectacle for those who like to watch the stars!

Above all, the Pleiades carry with them a legend about their stars that comes directly from Mythology, giving rise to the name of the group.

Myths about the Taurus Constellation

The Taurus Constellation in Mythology refers to Jupiter and his enchantment with Europa, daughter of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, and Telephassa.

The mortal was very beautiful and white, and while playing by the sea, she was surprised by a beautiful bull with crescent-shaped horns. She was dazzled by the apparition, and adorned the bull and sat on its torso.

However, the animal was nothing more than Zeus himself, who transformed himself to conquer her. Thus, the moment she becomes distracted, he skillfully runs towards the sea and the island of Crete, kidnapping her.

After this event, Zeus returns to his original form, and they marry and have three children.

So, when the mortal dies, she is considered a deity by the island’s inhabitants. They take the bull that brought her to the sky to the sky, creating the Taurus Constellation.

Pleiades constellation

Likewise, the constellation is linked to the Pleiades in Greek mythology. According to history, the Pleiades were daughters of Pleione (an oceanic daughter of Oceanus and Thetis) and Atlas (the god condemned to carry the world on his back for all eternity).

In short, the sisters Merope, Alcione, Electra, Celeno, Maia, Taigete and Asterope enchanted the famous hunter Orion, who began to pursue them with complete determination.

After complaining to the gods about Orion’s obsession, they are protected by them, who place them among the stars so that they remain unreachable by their pursuer.

Therefore, they are sent to the Taurus Constellation, protected by the animal’s tail and close to the stars that represent their parents (Pleione and Atlas), as an extra form of protection.

These are just two of the myths about the Constellations of the Zodiac, in which the gods and other characters constantly engage in disputes and conquests, giving rise to beautiful constellations and clusters that we can observe.

Stars of the Taurus Constellation

Certainly, the most famous star of all in this constellation is Aldebarã (or Alpha Tauri), a red giant star.

It is the brightest star in the constellation and the 13th brightest in the entire night sky. It could, as it is 425 times brighter than the sun. The difference between luminosity apparently occurs because Aldebarã is much further away from us than the king star.

Its name comes from Arabic ‘al-dabarān’ and means “the follower”, as it apparently follows the Pleiades cluster when observing the Earth’s rotation movement.

Furthermore, it is located following the 3 Marys of the Orion Constellation, which point to it if a straight line is drawn.

Another open cluster that deserves to be mentioned is the Hyades, which, despite not having the recognition and splendor of the Pleiades, also has its value.

Basically, its brightest stars are located in a “V” shape in what is supposed to be the face of the bull, with Aldebarã representing one of its eyes (although it is not part of the cluster). Its appearance was strongly associated with rain by ancient people.

Crab Nebula

The super-known Crab Nebula, also known as Messier 1, is a supernova remnant. In other words, a gas compound that was created by the violent explosion of a star.

It is also located in the Taurus Constellation, and has great notoriety mainly due to the large amount of energy released within it.

So much so that, even at around 6,300 light years away, it could be seen for more than two whole months during the day, being registered as a star by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054.

Its structure is quite complex, with a pulsar at its center that emits pulses of radiation 30 times per second. Recently, NASA released an image whose reproduction was only possible by combining X-ray, visible and infrared light technologies.

Incredibly beautiful, it is widely studied by astronomers and its name derives from a sketch made by William Parsons in 1844. In it, he mentions it as “Crab Nebula, since its design resembled the animal.

Taurus sign

The Sun passes at 30° in the Ecliptic band in which the Constellation of Taurus is located. This makes it one of the Constellations of the Zodiac.

Later, with the advent of astrology, scholars determined particular characteristics of each of the zodiac signs. The same happens with those born with the Sun in the period that begins between April 21st and May 20th (with small variations from year to year).

Therefore, those who have the influence of the Taurus Constellation in their zodiac sign can count on the stubbornness of the hunter Orion (mentioned above) in pursuing their ideals. They are also very focused and careful people.

Gift of constellations

Lastly, we love the stars and everything they represent. The fact that they have been in the sky for millions of years, transforming and observing everything that happens on our planet, is incredible.

As a result, throughout history we have the influence of the stars. Whether in the creation of civilizations or in their development.

In this sense, how about recording forever an important moment in your own history, or in someone else’s history in a painting with the constellations of a special day?

Our Star Map shows the names of the constellations and their exact positions. This is done using a super reliable database and serious astronomical catalogues.

With the purpose of bringing beautiful images, you can observe with quality the elements that were part of a particular special moment. Thus, making it worthy of a daily and exclusive souvenir.

Choose between someone’s birth date, wedding day, graduation, among others. Any event that deserves to be, like the constellations, highlighted among the stars.

Create your personalized map right now and find out which constellations were part of your sky!

Did you like the article?

So, visit our blog to find out more about other constellations!

Also, don’t forget to follow our work on Instagram.