Taurus streamers

A supernova in Taurus shone brightly enough to be seen in daylight. Chinese astronomers recorded it on July 4, 1054. The Crab Nebula is what remains.

Two star clusters in the constellation, the Pleiades and the Hyades, are visible without a telescope. Aldebaran marks the bull's eye. Its Arabic name, "the follower", describes how it follows the Pleiades across the night sky.

The bull also gives the astrological sign its symbol. Taurus covers April 20 to May 20 and belongs to fixed earth, with Venus as its ruler. Greek myth supplies a white bull: Zeus took that form to carry off Europa, a Phoenician princess.