Home > Astronomical History, Constellations, Ephemeris Program > Ephemeris: 12/04/2023 – Our Alphabet begins with Taurus, and that’s no Bull!

Ephemeris: 12/04/2023 – Our Alphabet begins with Taurus, and that’s no Bull!

December 4, 2023

This is Ephemeris for Monday, December 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:04. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 12:08 tomorrow morning.

In the eastern part of the sky at 8 pm tonight, above the rising constellation of Orion the hunter, with its three belt stars nearly vertical and its two brightest stars Betelgeuse and Rigel, is an orange star called Aldebaran at one end of a letter V shape of stars which is the face of the constellation Taurus the bull. The V shape of stars is called the Hyades which were the half sisters of the Pleiades above them, according to Greek myth. Back 4,000 or so years ago when alphabets were being invented the vernal equinox or the beginning of spring where the sun was entering was Taurus, rather than Aries, or Pisces as it does today. The Mesopotamians took the shape of the head of Taurus to be the first letter of their alphabet, Aleph, which was an A lying on its side. In early Egyptian hieroglyphics it was the head of a bull. Over time the A got turned around so it was standing on its two legs with its apex on top and a bar across it to become the A we know today.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

This animation shows Taurus the bull along with the Hyades, the Pleiades and the bright star Aldebaran marked off. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
Development of the letter A. Source: Wikipedia.

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