The reddish star Aldebaran (photo on the right) is very old and huge. It turns out that this red-hot gas giant, according to scientists, is forty times the size of the Sun. If Aldebaran is placed in the center of the solar system, then its surface will be in the orbit of Mercury.
Bright "eye" in the constellation Taurus
The location of the star Aldebaran is the constellation Taurus. Often on astronomical maps she was depicted in the form of the eye of Taurus. The reason for this was its brightness and visibility in the night sky.
Aldebaran is a star belonging to the K5 spectral class of III orange stars. She is really very bright. Aldebaran is even one of the twenty brightest stars that can be seen from Earth. Again, when compared with the Sun, its luminosity is 153 times higher. And this despite the fact that the temperature of Aldebaran below the sun is almost 2000 degrees Kelvin.
This is an irregular variable star. However, how its brilliance changes cannot be seen with the naked eye. Only using special measuring equipment.
Aldebaran is not alone in outer space - next to him, at a distance of 3.5 light years, is a neighboring star. This is a red M-type dwarf.
Aldebaran - a star with an Arabic name
The prefix "Al" in the
name of the star clearly indicates Arabic origin. The way it is. This name is taken from the Arabic language. Translated into Russian, it means "follower", "following". Since the star in the night sky follows the Pleiades.
So why is such a bright and noticeable star Aldebaran named after the Arabic name?
In modern European astronomy, the constellations are Latin names, but most of the stars in them are Arabic. But it turned out as follows.
In 140 AD, an astronomer from Alexandria Claudius Ptolemy collected descriptions of 1025 stars and, accordingly, named them. Europe was going through a period of Dark Ages at that time. About science, and astronomy in particular, no one even remembered there. And the Arabs were just interested in the night sky. They translated the book of Ptolemy into their language and continued the study. Arab astronomers discovered even more stars, which they named, naturally, in Arabic. When Europe came to their senses, the legacy of Ptolemy was already known as the Arabic Almagest. Europeans did not begin to translate it into their language.
So the name "Aldebaran" appeared. By the way, initially Ptolemy called the star Lamparus. Which meant "torch", "lighthouse".
Royal star
Due to its brightness and visibility, Aldebaran became one of the Royal Stars and Heavenly Guardians of Ancient Persia.
Even in ancient times, the Persians noticed this star, which is very easy to find in the night sky. Aldebaran was endowed with divine properties and was called the Fourth Royal Star, as well as the Guardian of Heaven. Three other royal stars along with him are Antares, Fomalhaut and Regulus.
In ancient times, Aldebaran was also called the Eye of the Taurus, the Cow's Eye or Palilius.
Mythological and symbolic component
The ancient peoples gave us a huge number of myths and legends. Each constellation is necessarily fixed in myth. Thus, the ancestors tried to preserve and convey to us valuable information. The constellation Taurus, in which the star Aldebaran is located, is also dedicated to one of the myths of Ancient Greece.
Once upon a time, King Agenor had three sons and a beautiful daughter, Europe. She was so beautiful that only the goddess Olympus could compare with her. Once, when Europe frolic with friends in the meadow, Almighty Zeus saw her. And he planned to abduct the beauty. To fulfill his plan, God turned into a snow-white bull and went down to earth.
When Europe moved away from her friends, she saw a beautiful animal that looked at her with its large and beautiful eyes, as if it wanted to tell her something. Europe began to stroke him and admire his beautiful long horns. While playing, she climbed the bull on her back. And then the animal, like a whirlwind, rushed to the sea. Europe was frightened and cried, but the bull had already thrown itself into the water. Crossing the ocean, he left a beauty on the island of Crete. And while Europe tidied itself up, the bull turned into a powerful and majestic Zeus. So the girl became the beloved of the King of Olympus and gave him three sons.
The bull has always been associated with strength, power and endurance. For some peoples, he was a totem capable of defending against dark power.
But what about the eye? After all, Aldebaran is a star that depicts only the bull’s eye, and not the whole animal. In the symbolism of the eyes - this is light, the ability to see, wisdom and even clairvoyance. This organ symbolizes the sun or the source of divine light. It seems to radiate the essence of man. According to legend, Europe did not know that Zeus was in front of her, and fell in love with the bull for its beautiful radiant eyes. It turns out that Aldebaran is the eye of Zeus the Bull, this is the Eye of God.
The value of a star in astrology
Ancient astrologers believed that Aldebaran was a star capable of endowing a person with powerful energy, high social status and honor, but at the same time violent in nature and instability of behavior.
Aldebaran also gives a person fertility. In this case, it does not mean the number of children (although this is also possible), but the number of ideas, projects that come to mind.
Astrologers note that the manifestation of a star completely depends on the person himself, his level of development. If he is low, then it manifests itself as stupid stubbornness, ostentatious sexuality or slavery in front of her instincts. At a high level, a star can give a person spiritual vision, the ability to foresee and understand the hidden meaning of things. Thanks to Aldebaran, a person is able to see others through and through. After all, his star is the Eye of God.