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Pleiades (M45 or The Seven Sisters) -- Located in the constellation Taurus

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HOW TO FIND

THE PLEIADES (7 SISTERS):

step 1
Locate the constellation Taurus, the Bull.
find Pleiades step one
step 2
Now identify the star Aldebaran.
find Pleiades step two
step 3
From here, locate the constellation Orion, and find twinkling-red Betelgeuse.
find Pleiades step three
step 4
Draw a line from Betelgeuse through Aldebaran.
find Pleiades step four
step 5
Continuing on that same line, nearly doubling the distance from Aldebaran, is where you'll find the Pleiades.
find Pleiades step five
step 6
Alternatively, you can use Orion's belt to find the Pleiades. Draw a line through the belt from left to right, and continue this line until you find the Pleiades.
find Pleiades step six

At first glance the Pleiades may look like a small smear of light, but a closer look will reveal the individual stars, all hot blue burners- an indication of their youth. This star cluster is among the easiest to find in the night sky and among the most fetching sights you can view through your telescope.

NOW FIND

The Andromeda Galaxy

The Story of the Pleiades

The famous Seven Sisters known as the Pleiades are the mythological nymph daughters of the titan Atlas, who is most known for bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. Story has it that these sisters were caretakers and teachers to the young Dionysus, the god of wine. When they became distraught in response to their father's weighty plight, Zeus flashed his merciful side and cast them into the comfort of the heavens. This provided some refuge from the advances of the doting hunter, Orion, who is said to still pursue the beautiful sisters across the sky.

  • A mere 440 light years from Earth, the Pleiades is among the closest night-sky objects outside our Solar System.
  • The Pleiades is an open cluster, comprised of rather young stars, which have been around for less than 100 million years.
  • You may want to enjoy this stunning start cluster while you still can. Because of the gravitational forces acting upon these stars by various galaxies, the Pleiades will no longer be a cluster in about 250 million years.
  • Though known as the Seven Sisters, there are actually nine bright stars that make up the Pleiades cluster. They named for the sisters (Maia, Electra, Alcyone, Taygeta, Celeano, Sterope, and Merope) and their parents, Atlas and Pleione.

    • See the Pleiades Up Close

    Telescopes

    It doesn't take a powerful telescope to delight in the Pleiades. But as always, better and bigger telescopes will yield the most impressive views.

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    Telescope Eyepieces

    It's well worth the effort to admire the Pleiades through different eyepieces. If you're on a budget, check out our selection of on-sale eyepieces- it's loaded with quality options.

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    Telescope Accessories

    If you're trying your hand at astrophotography, check out our selection of eyepiece filters and photographic telescope accessories to get the most out of your images.

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    M42 & M13: courtesy of Tim Hunter and James McGaha, Grasslands Observatory at http://www.3towers.com; M31 & M45: courtesy of Herm Perez, http://home.att.net/~hermperez/default.htm; M8: courtesy of Bob Star, http://www.flickr.com/photos/52031391@N00/70287323 / CC BY 2.0

    helpful information

    2009: The International Year of Astronomy

    With the theme "The Universe, Yours to Discover," a United Nations agency is bringing astronauts, artists, scientists, academics, and others together during the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first observation of the heavens in 1609.

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