Hello Friends,
It's been one "bull" of a week.
I really enjoyed my star stroll this past weekend. I got my wife Cassandra to join me; and so we bundled up together and enjoyed the starry night together. Taurus the Bull grabbed my attention this week, especially for the reason that its horns are one of the first of a few open star clusters the winter night sky can show us, and the first I will make mention of in the upcoming few weeks.
Notice Taurus appears to charge Orion the Hunter. First find Orion, then jump up and to the right. You will find a sideways "V-shaped" cluster of stars. This is the Hyades cluster of stars; in Greek, meaning "the rainy ones" and in Roman culture, they were seen as the Piglets. The rainy ones were so named due to their rise in the sky relating to the coming of Spring by the time Taurus gazed down upon us from far above. They were also so named as the mourning widows, crying the tears of those wifes that have lost their husbands to war or the hunt. There really is no story or reason noted as to why the Romans saw these stars as piglets.
The bright reddish/pink "eye" of the bull is Aldebaran, another of the super giant stars. At the tip of the left horn, lies a bright star that has been shared with Taurus and Auriga, the Charioteer's right foot. At the tip of the right horn lies the Crab Nebula. With field binoculars, you are able to see more of the several hundred stars that lie in this open star cluster; a decent telescope will show the Crab Nebula, a super explosion that was recorded in 1054 A.D. and was visible even during daytime for three weeks.
Imagine, I have never seen the Crab Nebula! This is certainly something I am going to gaze upon this weekend. I am so excited by finding something new in every adventure I take into the night sky. I never fear becoming bored of the night sky; each time I gaze upon the night sky, I am still continually brought to awe.
The bull is only the shape of the horns, head, and shoulders; there are no stars that identify the body and legs, and of course there is a great story behind this. Where the body and hind quarters would take up space are Cetus and Aries, the Ram instead. See the brighter three starred hook-shaped constellation? That is Aries, mostly linked and symbolized as the ram that produced Jason's golden fleece. And Cetus, we will visit in the near future, as this creature is part and parcel of the story of Perseus, the Hero.
So, about the missing half of the bull in the sky? Well, Manilius, a Roman poet, astrologer, and author from 1 A.D. draws a moral from this experience, sharing that "the sky teaches us to undergo loss with fortitude, even since constellations are formed with limbs deformed." The bull is also submerged underwater, only leaving its front quarters above water. Why is a bull emerged in water?
Once again, we see Zeus take on an animal form to woo and seduce a mortal woman. He was particularly fond of taking animal forms, so as to deceive his wife Hera and entice the mortal woman with a gentle and beautiful creature. Each of the planet Jupiter's four Galilean Moons (Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede) has connected a story where Zeus takes an animal form to entice a mortal woman (man in Ganymede's case) to lay with him. Taurus the Bull was the shape Zeus took to lure a woman named Europa to lay with him.
In a side story, the bull/heifer could also symbolize Io, who Zeus turned into a heifer to disguise her from Hera. Hera's woman's intuition was strong, however, and she sent the one-hundred eyed watchman Argus to watch over this heifer that Zeus had brought to Olympus (our ancient private investigator of the gods). Argus was able to spy and confirm that the heifer was Io. Hera was furious and sent a gadfly after Io. Io then decided to swim away into the sea to escape. The heifer is seen swimming in the night sky, her top half above the water and the only part able to be spied.
The legend that incorporates Zeus taking the form of the bull is somewhat more complex. Zeus saw Europa and other girls playing upon the beach, and instructed Hermes to cause and gather the wild cattle in the mountains towards the beach. He hid within the cattle drive, a snow white bull with polished metal horns. Europa found this beast incredibly handsome and admired its gentle nature. She adorned the horns with flowers and stroked its head and neck. Zeus then coaxed Europa to sit upon the Bull's back. Once she had, he paddled out into the sea with Europa, where Europa became much more fearful and clung onto his horns as the waves washed over her and the bull. Zeus paddled and came to shore on Crete and revealed himself, giving her lavish gifts and a puppy, which at times is symbolized as Canis Major.
This myth shows the calming and restraint of the primal urges in the interest of love. It also shows of patience and cunning to win the heart of someone. It is a beautiful picture of the dance and method of love, and the gentle beauty of a woman taming the beast of man. We see this similar story in, of course, the tale of Beauty and the Beast.
Now let us head over to the tip of the left horn and/or the right foot of Auriga, the charioteer. The charioteer stands alone, holding the reins of a chariot in one hand and a goat in another. The constellation looks like a pentagon in the sky, within which is a yellowish star named Capella. Capella is noted as the winter star, and the goat star. It is funny because none of the myths mention or explain the origin of the goat, other than the star Capella meaning goat star. If you look to the right of the star, there are three small stars in a triangular cluster; these are dubbed as the "kids."
The most popular identification of the Charioteer is Erichthonius, a legendary king of Athens. He was a demi-god, the son of Hephaetus, the god of fire and forge. Hephaetus was not very kind to his demi-children, so Athena took him under her wing and taught him to tame horses, which led to the use of four horses to draw a chariot, that Erichthonius fashioned through his craftmanship derived as a gift from Hephaetus. The other interesting point to know is that Erichthonius was crippled as a result of being his father being disfigured, thus his intellect and craftmanship of the chariot reminds us that a physical limitation can be certainly overcome with creativity, intellect, and focus.
I left you another beautiful link: EarthSky Tonight, which gives a nice little spot on a highlight of the night sky to view and observe each day, and to share with other stargazers.
Be Well,
Russ
No comments:
Post a Comment