星空觀察：金牛座——巴比倫的天堂之牛
Starwatch: Behold Taurus, the Babylonian Bull of Heaven
難度：中階
來源：The Guardian
Taurus, the bull, is one of the oldest constellations recognised in its modern form. Babylonian records from around 1000 BC identified it as the bull of heaven, but cave drawings from Lascaux, France, suggest humans may have associated these stars with a bull approximately 14,000 years earlier—making it among the most ancient patterns humans have seen in the night sky.
金牛座是以現代形式被認識的最古老星座之一。大約公元前1000年的巴比倫記錄將其認定為天堂之牛，但法國拉斯科的洞穴壁畫表明，人類可能在約14000年前就已將這些星星與公牛聯絡起來——這使它成為人類在夜空中看到的最古老圖案之一。
The constellation sits on the ecliptic—the path the Sun follows around the sky throughout the year—making Taurus a zodiacal constellation. Its brightest star is Aldebaran, a red giant whose name means 'eye of the bull' in Arabic. This luminous star marks the bull's fierce gaze and is one of the brightest objects in the winter sky.
該星座位於黃道上——黃道是太陽全年在天空中執行的路徑——使金牛座成為黃道星座。它最亮的恆星是畢宿五，這是一顆紅巨星，其阿拉伯語名稱意為'公牛之眼'。這顆明亮的恆星標誌著公牛兇猛的目光，是冬季夜空中最亮的天體之一。
Taurus is home to two spectacular star clusters visible to the naked eye. The first is the Hyades, a V-shaped collection of stars near Aldebaran representing the bull's face. The second is the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, positioned at the bull's shoulder with Alcyone as its brightest member.
金牛座擁有兩個肉眼可見的壯觀星團。第一個是畢宿星團，它是畢宿五附近的V形星群，代表公牛的臉。第二個是昴宿星團，也被稱為七姐妹，位於公牛的肩部，其中昴宿六是最亮的成員。
This week offers excellent viewing conditions for Taurus. The constellation is best observed looking south to south-east from the northern hemisphere around 8 PM. Being a zodiacal constellation positioned along the Sun's apparent path, Taurus is also easily visible from the southern hemisphere, making it a truly global celestial landmark.
本週提供了觀察金牛座的絕佳條件。在北半球，該星座最佳觀測位置是在晚上8點左右朝南至東南方向觀看。作為位於太陽視運動路徑上的黃道星座，金牛座從南半球也很容易看到，使其成為真正的全球天文地標。
重點詞彙
- constellation (n.)：星座
- ancient (adj.)：古老的，古代的
- cave drawings (n.phr.)：洞穴壁畫
- ecliptic (n.)：黃道
- zodiacal (adj.)：黃道的，黃道帶的
- red giant (n.phr.)：紅巨星
- luminous (adj.)：發光的，明亮的
- spectacular (adj.)：壯觀的，引人注目的
- star cluster (n.phr.)：星團
- naked eye (n.phr.)：肉眼
- positioned (v.)：位於，定位
- viewing conditions (n.phr.)：觀測條件
- hemisphere (n.)：半球
- celestial (adj.)：天體的，天空的
- landmark (n.)：地標，標誌