Aldebaran (the star). Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus

The red star Aldebaran (pictured right) is very old and huge. It turns out that this glowing gas giant, according to the calculations of 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 orbit of Mercury.

A bright "eye" in the constellation of Taurus

The location of the star Aldebaran is the constellation of Taurus. Often on astronomical maps it was depicted in the form of Taurus's eye. The reason for this was its brightness and visibility in the night sky.

Aldebaran is a star belonging to the spectral class K5 of III orange stars. She really is very bright. Aldebaran even enters the top twenty of the brightest stars that can be seen from Earth. Again, if compared with the Sun, then its luminosity is higher by 153 times. And this despite the fact that the temperature of Aldebaran is lower than solar temperature by almost 2000 degrees on the Kelvin scale.

This is an irregular variable star. However, how its luster changes, can not be seen with the naked eye. Only with the help of special measuring equipment.

Aldebaran is not alone in outer space - next to it, at a distance of 3.5 light years, there is a neighbor star. This is a red dwarf M-type.

Aldebaran is a star with an Arabic name

The prefix "Al" in the name of the star clearly indicates the Arab origin. The way it is. This name is taken from Arabic. In translation into Russian it means "follower", "going after". As the star in the night sky moves after the Pleiades.

So why such a bright and noticeable star Aldebaran is called an Arab name?

In modern European astronomy, the constellations bear Latin names, but most of the stars in them are Arabic. And it turned out this way.

In 140 AD, the astronomer from Alexandria Claudius Ptolemy collected descriptions of 1025 stars and, accordingly, named them. At that time, Europe was going through a period of Dark Ages. About science, and astronomy in particular, there no one even remembered. And the Arabs were just interested in the night sky. They translated into their language the book of Ptolemy and continued the study. Arab astronomers have been found even more stars, which they called, of course, in Arabic. When Europe came to its senses, the legacy of Ptolemy was already known as the Arabic "Almagest". The Europeans no longer translated it into their own language.

So the name "Aldebaran" appeared. By the way, originally Ptolemy called the star Lamparus. Which meant "torch," "lighthouse."

The Royal Star

Due to its brightness and visibility, Aldebaran became one of the Royal Stars and Celestial 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, and also the Guardian of Heaven. Three other royal stars are on par with him - Antares, Fomalhaut and Regulus.

In ancient times, Aldebaran was also called the Eye of Taurus, the ox-eye or Palilium.

Mythological and symbolic component

The ancient peoples gave us a lot of myths and legends. Each constellation is necessarily fixed in the myth. Thus the ancestors tried to preserve and convey valuable information to us. The constellation of 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 frolicked with her friends in the meadow, the Almighty Zeus saw her. And he planned to kidnap the beauty. To realize his plan, God turned into a snow-white bull and descended to the ground.

When Europe withdrew from her friends, she saw a beautiful animal that looked at her with her big and beautiful eyes, as if she wanted to tell her something. Europe began to stroke him and admire his beautiful long horns. 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 rushed into the water. After crossing the ocean, he left a beauty on the island of Crete. And while Europe was putting itself in order, the bull turned into a powerful and majestic Zeus. So the girl became the lover of King Olimp and gave him three sons.

The bull at all times was associated with strength, power and endurance. In some nations, it was a totem capable of defending against a dark force.

And what about the eye? After all, Aldebaran is a star that depicts only the eye of a bull, and not the whole animal. In the symbolism of the eye 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 before her Zeus, and fell in love with the bull for his beautiful radiant eyes. It turns out that Aldebaran is the eye of Zeus the Bull, this is the Eye of God.

The Meaning of a Star in Astrology

Ancient astrologers believed that Aldebaran is a star capable of empowering a person with powerful energy, high social status and honor, but at the same time a violent temper and instability of behavior.

Aldebaran also gives man fertility. In this case, we do 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 depends entirely on the person himself, his level of development. If it is low, it manifests itself as stupid stubbornness, ostentatious sexuality or slavery in front of its instincts. At a high level, a star can give a person spiritual sight, 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.