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David Aguilar
(617) 495-7462
Christine Pulliam
(617) 495-7463
pubaffairs@cfa
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Sky Chart: November 2009
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8:00 pm EST on November 15, 2009. Looking at Zenith, South at Bottom. (click to enlarge)*
During the early evenings of November, the distinct asterism of the Pleiades - the open cluster M45 - rides high over the eastern horizon. Knowledge of the cluster of young hot blue stars predates written history; it was certainly known to the Babylonians, Chinese, Mayans, Australian aborigines, and Native Americans, and is specifically mentioned in the Bible and in Greek mythology. The cluster has been nicknamed "The Seven Sisters" after the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, though the actual number of stars visible to the unaided eye ranges anywhere from 6 to 14, depending on the observer and viewing conditions. In fact, studies reveal that the cluster has at least 1000 stars. The Pleiades cluster is about 8 light-years across in its core region, and about 440 light-years away. It is a humbling thought that the light from the Pleiades reaching us now left its source when Galileo was just 5 years old.
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