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The Pleiades (/ ˈ p l iː. ə d iː z, ˈ p l eɪ-, ˈ p l aɪ-/), [8] [9] also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45, is an asterism of an open star cluster containing young B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Taurus.
The name Pleiades ostensibly derived from the name of their mother, Pleione, effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione". However, etymologically, the name of the star-cluster likely came first, and Pleione's name indicated that she was the mother of the Pleiades. [ 3 ]
In Greek mythology, Merope / ˈ m ɛr ə p iː / [1] (Ancient Greek: Μερόπη) is one of the seven Pleiades, daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Pleione, their mother, is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and is the protector of sailors. [2] Their transformation into the star cluster known as the Pleiades is the subject of various myths.
The asterism is formed of the two eye-catching open star clusters, the Pleiades and the Hyades that form the posts of a virtual gate on either side of the ecliptic line. Since all planets as well as the Moon and the Sun always move very closely along the virtual circle of the ecliptic, all these seven orbiting bodies regularly pass through the ...
The open clusters were hidden by the dust in the Milky Way. [6] Credit ESO. The prominent open cluster the Pleiades, in the constellation Taurus, has been recognized as a group of stars since antiquity, while the Hyades (which also form part of Taurus) is one of the oldest open clusters. Other open clusters were noted by early astronomers as ...
In Swahili, the cluster is called "kilimia" (from Proto-Bantu "*ki-dimida" in Bantu areas E, F, G, J, L and S), meaning 'The Ploughing Stars'. [110] The word comes from the verb -lima meaning "dig" or "cultivate", as their visibility was taken as a sign to prepare digging as the onset of the rain was near.
Maia is the fourth-brightest star in the Pleiades open star cluster (Messier 45), after Alcyone, Atlas and Electra. It is surrounded by one of the brighter reflection nebulae within the Pleiades, designated NGC 1432 and sometimes called the Maia Nebula .
The story of Callisto and Arcas, like that of the Pleiades, is an aition for a stellar formation, the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Great and Little Bear. Her name is related to μαῖα (maia), an honorific term for older women related to μήτηρ (mētēr) 'mother', [citation needed] also meaning "midwife" in Greek. [12]