[Vision2020] Subaru Logo: Pleidaes in Taurus: 100 Millon Year Old Star Cluster, 425 Light Years Away: Beautiful Photo!

[Ted Moffett]

 Given we looked at the Pleidaes star cluster (in the constellation Taurus,
a fact I will try to remember as an easy way to find Taurus) the last time I
saw you, I thought you might find the information below of some interest.
At least, the picture of the Pleidaes pasted in below is very beautiful!  If
the picture does not show when you open this e-mail, the web site for the
picture is the web link towards the bottom.  The picture can be expanded to
a large size... Recall I told you the Subaru car symbol is a rough diagram
of the Pleidaes, though it only shows six stars, while the Pleidaes are "The
Seven Sisters."

http://www.wsanford.com/~wsanford/exo/constellations/subaru/origin_subaru.html

>From website above:

[image: Subaru Logo]"SUBARU" is a Japanese word meaning "unite." It is also
a term identifying the Pleiades star
cluster<http://www.windows.umich.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/mythology/pleiades.html&sw=false&sn=153612&d=/mythology&edu=mid&br=graphic&cd=false&fr=f&tour=>in
the constellation Taurus that includes six stars visible to the
average
eye. According to Greek mythology, Atlas' daughters turned into this group
of stars


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http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/

>From website above:

The Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45,
is a conspicuous object in the night sky with a prominent place in ancient
mythology <http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/pleiades_myth.html>. The
cluster contains hundreds of stars, of which only a
handful<http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/pleiades_see.html>are
commonly visible to the unaided eye. The stars in the Pleiades are
thought to have formed together around 100 million years ago, making them
1/50th the age of our sun, and they lie some 130
parsecs<http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=parsec&db=*>(425
light
years <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=light+year&db=*>) away. From
our perspective they appear in the constellation of
Taurus<http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Taurus.html>,
with approximate celestial coordinates of 3 hours 47 minutes right ascension
and +24 degrees declination.

Mythologically speaking<http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/pleiades_myth.html>,
Atlas and Pleione are *not* Pleiades, but rather the *parents* of the Seven
Sisters. Why do they get two stars named after them? Atlas is already pretty
busy holding the heavens up on his shoulders, and myths vary as to whether
or not Pleione was placed in the sky with her daughters. So how did the
current naming scheme come about? Beats me. If you know, send me
email<http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/>.


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http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0601/pleiades_gendler_big.jpg

>From website above:


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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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