Taurus Constellation Of The Bull
Father Of The Minotaur
The Taurus constellation is one of the many animals hunted by Orion the Hunter.
It also represents the white bull that sired the famous Minotaur with the wife of King Minos of Crete.
This bull was sent to Minos as a sign that he was the rightful heir to the throne.
However, Minos did not sacrifice the bull to Poseidon like he was supposed to, so the ever-vengeful sea god
caused his queen, Pasiphaë, to fall in love with it.
Later, in another myth, Theseus of Athens goes to Crete and slays the dreadful Minotaur,
which was reported to be a man with a bull's head that could breathe fire.
The Greeks saw Taurus as Zeus in disguise.
In the constellation Taurus is the orange-red star Aldebaran.
This is the eye of the bull. Shown in this picture near the bottom center.
Finding The Bull...
Right Ascension: 4 hours
Declination: 15 degrees
Visible between latitudes 90 and -65 degrees
Best seen in January (at 9:00 PM)
Some of the stars in the constellation:
ALDEBARAN (Alpha Tau)
ALNATH (Beta Tau)
Hyadum I (Gamma Tau)
Hyadum II (Delta 1 Tau)
taurus constellation to the zodiac homepage
constellations and backyard stargazing
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