Who Discovered Constellation Taurus

An article by Peter Pierce    Comments Off on Who Discovered Constellation Taurus

The Mesopotamians were the first to call the bull constellation as Gud Anna. It meant “Bull of Heaven.” Ancient bull images are also found in Spain and France. These images were made of bone, stone, and clay.

On the other hand, Babylonian astronomers believed Taurus was one of the oldest constellations in the sky. In the early Bronze and Chalcolithic Age, Taurus signaled the point of vernal equinox. During the vernal equinox of the 23^rd century BC,  the Pleiades came closest to the sun. Taurus became very visible in the sky.  The Babylonians took that as proof of their belief.  They took down Taurus in the MUL.APIN as the “Heavenly Bull.” Its Akkadian name was Shur. Taurus was linked with Zeus in Greek mythology. When the Greek god kidnapped the Phoenician princess Europa, he took the form of a bull.

In the East, the Chinese call Taurus as the White Tiger of the West. It is considered one of the four greatest constellations in Chinese astrology. Taurus’s other name is the Great Bridge. Taurus stood for Osiris, father of Horus to the Egyptians. Osiris is the Egyptian god of the dead and the afterlife.

Taurus’s horn was a symbol of fertility and riches in both the east and west for thousands of years.

Taurus in Modern times

Michael Rappengluck of Germany believes constellation Taurus started with ancient people’s recognition of the Pleiades. It began around 15, 000 BC. In that case Taurus’s discovery supported the Chalcolithic and Upper Paleolithic age beginnings. Rappengluck discovered wall paintings in the caves of Lascaux, in Southwest France But many do not agree with him.

Between May and June the sun passes through Taurus. The dates for Taurus in Astrology start on April 20 to May 20.

How Taurus is formed

Taurus is easily visible in the northern hemisphere sky. It is between Aries and Gemini. To its north is Perseus and Auriga, to its south Eridanus and Orion, to its southwest Cetus.

Hyades is the V-shaped cluster of stars in Taurus’s head. The bull’s red eye is Alderaban. Pleiades is somewhere in Taurus’s shoulder. Leftovers of supernova AD 1054 and Crab nebula are also found inside Taurus.  Most times only the tips of the horns are seen up front. The horns are formed by Beta and Zeta.   Taurus also contains a spherical cluster of about 400 stars called Hyades.  They are found behind Alderaban. It is widely believed three of Taurus’s stars are exoplanets.

The Stars of Taurus

Moreover, Taurus has a number of binary stars. These stars include Struve binaries. The Hyades stars inside Taurus move in the same direction and at almost the same speed. It is believed they all began from one point. The formation dates back between 600-800 million years ago. The stars making up Praesepe may be also related to Taurus.

Taurus has many other less known stars within its sphere. Elnath or Beta Tauri, and Alpha Tauri  are close by. Taurus’s highest point occurs in January. Like most constellations, Taurus has open clusters and  globular clusters.