In Greek mythology, taurus, the Bull, was Zeus himself. He disgusted himself as a white bull in order to attract the attention of Europa, Princess of Phoenicia. Europa found the bull so attractive that she climbed on his back, and Zeus swam off with her.
In the sky, Taurus is charing at Orion. Only the front part of a bull appears as the constellation in the sky. the head of Taurus is clearly marked by the V-shaped of an open star cluster, the Hyades. the bright reddish star Aldebaran marks one of the bull's eyes.
The Pleiades, another open cluster, rideon the Bull's back. With a little training, your eyes can readily pick up the leiades as you scan the sky. The Pleiades are called the seven sisters in Greek mythology. Six of Pleiades stars are about 4th magnitude and so are easy to see with naked eye, but some people can see at least two other, fainter stars. Binoculars or a telescope will reveal dozens of Pleiades stars, as the picture below shows.
 The Pleiades; about six of thm are visible to the naked eye. Atlas and above it. Pleione, are the two bright stars at are left. Alcyone is in the center of the picture. Continuing counterclockwise around the diamond are Merope, Electra, and Maia. The stars are young, and in some cases are still surrounded by some of the dust from which they formed. |
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