He Pleiades star cluster It is visible almost everywhere in the world, making it one of the most famous star swarms among lovers of astronomical observation. Acquaintance also like M45the set of bright points in the sky becomes even more relevant during the and here we give you some keys to observe it in the sky.
The Seven Sisters stand out in the sky for being one of the few clusters that can be admired with the naked eye. At first glance you only see a bright beam of light in the sky, but as your eyes get used to the darkness, suddenly more and more stars begin to appear gathered at the same point. Although it must be said that it is not easy to distinguish because it is a cluster where the stars are so close that it does not take up much space in our perspective of the celestial vault.
It will depend a lot on each person’s visual ability, but On average, people can distinguish up to 7 stars. Of course, there are those who have such an exceptional sense of sight that, combined with basic binoculars, they have counted up to 20 flashes of light in the cluster, but of these, 7 are the brightest and those that can be seen with the naked eye. .
Why the Pleiades announce winter
Although the Pleiades can be seen almost everywhere in the world and during many times of the year, in the northern hemisphere They announce the arrival of winter because starting in November they can be seen from dusk to dawn. From here and throughout the winter, the hazy patch of blue stars adheres to the celestial dome and travels its path near the ecliptic. Once we can see the Pleiades almost from dusk to dawn, it means that winter is near, otherwise they can only be admired for a certain short period of time.
The cluster of electrifying blue beams is composed of hot stars of spectral type B, which are located very close to the Taurus constellation and have been formed during the last 120 million years. The precise distance at which they are located is still imprecise, but astronomers say they are approximately 444 light years from our Solar System.
How to see the Pleiades in the sky
They are not such a complicated cluster to distinguish, once they are located in the sky, the real problem lies in finding the necessary darkness to be able to locate them. But it can be helped with other brighter stars, thanks to the fact that the Pleiades are located between two large ones. On the one hand we have the constellation of the hunter, Orion rises to the southeast of the cluster. While on the other side we will see Taurus, the famous V led by Aldebarán.
From November, locate Orion’s belt in the sky, which is described as the three contiguous stars that are most striking in the entire vault. Then draw an imaginary line from the three stars and join it to the constellation of Taurus, specifically with Aldebaran. The latter is the main star of the constellation of the bull and is immediately identified as the only red star observed in the area. Project the line a little further after you’ve found Taurus and you’ll quickly find the Pleiades, which immediately catches your eye as a blurry patch of electrifying blue.