Taurus Poniatovii

The Bull of Poniatowski, Latin Taurus Poniatovii, also Royal Bull of Poniatowski, is a constellation of the northern sky, which was introduced in honor of the Polish King Stanislaus Poniatowski Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt in 1777. It is described in the star atlas idea of the stars by Johann Elert Bode, but not one of the 88 of the International Astronomical Union ( IAU) recognized constellations. The Bull of Poniatowski is a small group of stars in the northeastern part of the official constellation Ophiuchus ( Ophiuchus ) and is located between the shoulder of Ophiuchus and the tail of the snake. Main star is only 16.6 light-years distant binary star 70 Ophiuchi. The star 70 Ophiuchi A is one of the few solar-type stars ( spectral type K0 V) that are visible to the naked eye, and has an apparent magnitude of 4.3 mag. The companion is much smaller and has a brightness of 6.0 may, as well as an apparent distance from 1.5 to 6.8 arc seconds. The orbital period is 88.3 years.

The name of the constellation is derived from the shape of the eye-catching asterism in the center of the constellation, consisting of the Sterner 73, 70, 68, 67 and 66 Ophiuchi. The shape is very similar to the head of the bull, ie the Hyades.

As the Hyades is also the head of the bull of Poniatowski a real open cluster, the 359 has the catalog designations Melotte ( Mel ) 186 and Collinder (Cr ). The total brightness of the star cluster is 3.0 like the diameter is about 4 °.

Coordinates of the cluster: ( equinox 2000.0 )

Serpens Minute of arc#Symbols and abbreviations Taurus (constellation) Former constellations Antinous (constellation) Jordanus (constellation) Robur Carolinum Felis (constellation) Quadrans Muralis River Tigris (constellation)
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