The Pleiades

By Stargazer Ron

I took advantage of the New Year’s sparkling clear skies following our bountiful rains to photograph the Pleiades. The bright, hot, blue stars formed within the last 100 million years. They are extremely luminous and will burn out quickly, with life spans of only a few hundred million years — much shorter than the 8+ billion years for our sun. The sibling stars, often called the “Seven Sisters,” are surrounded by blue filaments of light that are the result of starlight reflecting off of interstellar dust.

The Greek name “Pleiades” probably comes from a word meaning “to sail.” In the ancient Mediterranean world, the day that the Pleiades cluster first appeared in the morning sky before sunrise announced the opening of the navigation season. “Subaru” is the Japanese name for the cluster, one of whom tradition says is invisible — hence only six stars in the Subaru car logo. Indeed, even in dark skies most observers without optical aids will see only six .

They are quite prominent in Winter skies. To see them, first find the beautiful constellation Orion the Hunter, as he rises in the east-southeast and look for the stars in his belt above the bright blue Rigel. Then draw a line between these three stars and extend it upward about five times the length of the belt. There you will find the first magnitude star, Aldebaran. Continue upward to the star cluster that looks like a very small Big Dipper.