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The Seven Sisters

Winter 2002-2003 Newsletter

In the mid-evening sky this time of year, one of the most recognizable star clusters becomes visible in the northeast sky. The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters of Greek mythology, appear as a cloud when viewed by the naked eye. Upon closer observation with binoculars, the Pleiades look like a smaller version of the Big Dipper, only with a shorter handle.

According to the Greek myth, the seven daughters of Atlas worked as attendants to Artemis, the goddess of wildlife and hunting. The hunter Orion, quite taken with their beauty, pursued them relentlessly. The gods on Mount Olympus rescued the Pleiades from Orion's pursuit and changed them into doves.

After their deaths, the gods made the sisters into a group of stars. The Pleiades are still being chased across the sky by the constellation Orion, which follows very closely behind them as they arc across the night sky.

Astronomers know the Pleiades as M 45, the 45th object catalogued by the famous French comet hunter Charles Messier in the late 1700's. This open cluster of stars is located approximately 415 light-years from us.

The stars are about 1 light-year from each other, and a gas and dust nebula
surrounds them. The Pleiades will be with us throughout the winter season.

This well-know group of stars can be enjoyed with the naked eye, binoculars, or studied in detail with a telescope. When observing the Seven Sisters, don't forget to look to the left of them to see the constellation Orion pursuing them, just as he did in ancient Greek mythology.