The Deep Photographic Guide to the
Constellations
The constellation of the month
FEBRUARY
Taurus
Mark the Deep Sky Objects
Names:
Latin: Taurus (Tau)
| English: | Bull
| Spanish: | Toro
|
| German: | Stier
| French: | Taureau
|
In mid-february the constellation Taurus can be seen best at 19 h local time,
when it culminates (see lines).
The position is above of last months
Orion,
or vice versa if you are on the southern hemisphere.
Frequently you can see other bright objects in
Taurus: the planets.
The ecliptic crosses Taurus between the two Open Star Clusters
Pleiades (M 45) and
Hyades.
The galactic plane is also very close. In the upper left part you can see parts of
Auriga, lying exactly
in the plane of our Milky Way.
Extended dark interstellar dust clouds of the Taurus-Auriga star forming region
dim the light of the stars from behind. These dark clouds can be seen even better
in the high contrast version.
Taurus offers a wealth of interesting objects
like the Pleiades M 45 and a couple of other Open Clusters.
The brightest star is Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), the "red eye" of the bull
visible in the lower right.
© all photographs taken by
Till Credner and
Sven Kohle
