Taurus,
the Bull
is nicely placed
for viewing in the early evenings in March. Home to the open clusters
of the Pleiades and the Hyades, the constellation claims two first-magnitude
stars, Aldebaran, which marks the red eye of the Bull, and El
Nath, at the tip on one of the horns. The Crab Nebula is here,
too.
[Editor's note: The
following story is R-rated for violence. Parental guidance is
suggested.]
Minerva, daughter
of Jupiter and goddess of wisdom, presided over the useful and
decorative arts: agriculture and navigation of men; and spinning,
weaving and needlework of women. King Cecrops had named the city
of Athens for her (her Greek name was Athene), and it was there
that Minerva kept counsel. One of her mortal subjects in the city
of Athens, Arachne, had mastered the skill of embroidery to such
a high level that even the nymphs would come to admire her work.
Arachne thought her work to be the equal to Minerva’s, and
challenged the goddess to a contest.
Minerva created a tapestry of great power, representing Jupiter
and Neptune in a central circle, with the four corners illustrating
scenes of the displeasure of the gods at such presumptuous mortals
who dared contend with them. These were meant to discourage her
rival before it was too late.
Arachne chose to depict subjects showing the failings and errors
of the gods. It was in one of these scenes that the story of Jupiter’s
seduction of Europa, Princess of Phoenicia, was stitched. Jupiter
had assumed the form of a snow-white bull with golden horns and
enchanted the young girl to mount his back, whereupon he dashed
into the sea and swam with her to Crete. There he revealed himself
as Jupiter, king of the gods, and claimed her as his bride. Arachne’s
embroidery was so fine that the nymphs thought the scene to be
real. Europa seemed to look back to shore with longing eyes to
summon her friends for help.
Minerva sensed that Arachne was superbly skilled, beyond even
her own abilities, and she could not tolerate it. She slashed
the piece to ribbons, and she berated the girl, making her feel
the guilt of her actions. Arachne could not endure the shame and
she went and hanged herself.
Minerva found the girl suspended from the rope and took pity on
her, restoring her to life. But as a punishment for her presumption,
she sprinkled Arachne with potent juices which caused her hair
to come off and her body to shrink. Her fingers moved to her sides
and served for legs. Her body remained suspended from the silken
rope. Her descendents are known as arachnids, and they are often
found spinning and weaving their exquisite designs.
So, Taurus is Jupiter in the guise of the Bull, according to Roman
and Greek lore. The constellation was called the Bull by virtually
all of the ancient civilizations.
Four thousand years ago, the Sun was in this constellation at
the time of the spring equinox—New Year’s Day for many
peoples—and the most important date in the year, marking
the time for plowing and planting. Taurus was the first sign of
the Zodiac. To the Hebrews the constellation was known as Aleph,
the first letter of their alphabet.
In 1758, the famous French comet hunter Charles
Messier observed a fuzzy patch of light near the star Beta Tauri.
The spot did not move, and Messier began a catalog of such objects
in order that he and other observers should not confuse them for
comets. So M1 is the first of the deep-sky objects in his list
of 45 that was published in 1771. By 1781 his list had grown to
103, and with later additions the Messier Catalog now stands at
110.
This photo of M1, the Crab Nebula, is by Conrad Jung.Early in the 18th century a small
patch of light was discovered by John Bevis. It was rediscovered
in 1758 by Charles Messier, and it is the first in Messier's catalog
of nebulous objects, M1. In 1844 the Earl of Rosse observed and
sketched the object and named it the Crab Nebula. Known as Taurus
A to radioastronomers, in 1948 it became the first radio source
to be identified with a known visible object. This was accomplished
by an unusual method by John Bolton. He constructed a special
radio telescope set facing the sea and located on a high clifftop.
By receiving radio signals directly from the Crab Nebula and by
reflection from the sea, he was able to achieve the same precision
as a single radio telescope whose diameter is twice the height
of the cliff.
A second Messier object in Taurus is the Pleiades cluster, M45.
Many know this beautiful grouping of stars as the Seven Sisters.
Myths of many cultures have been told. Some were presented in
the February, 1996 issue of The Refractor.