| IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg). Via Wikipedia. | |
| Taurus | |
| The Bull | |
| Origin | Ancient |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | Tau |
| Genitive | Tauri |
| Pronunciation | /ˈtɔːrəs/ TOR-əs genitive /ˈtɔːraɪ/ TOR-eye |
| TOR-us | |
| Location | Celestial Equator |
| Primary Star | Aldebaran (α Tauri) |
| Right Ascention 4h 36m Declination +16° 31' | |
| Martian Solar Lag δ(🜨→♂) +0.132h (7.9m) | |
| Taurus, “The Bull” represents Zeus in the form he took when he abducted Europa, daughter of the king of Phoenicia. While playing on the beach, Europa sighted a magnificent white bull with golden horns grazing peacefully with her father’s herd. She was entranced by its beauty and gentle demeanor. The bull knelt before her, and when she climbed up on its back, it went into the sea and swam her to Crete, where Zeus finally shed his bestial disguise. He seduced her and one of their offspring was Minos, king of Crete. | |
| www.underthesky.com | |
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| Taurus as depicted by Johann Bayer in his Uranometria (1603). Source image provided by www.RareMaps.com — Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Via www.underthenightsky.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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