Home > Constellations, Ephemeris Program, Observing, Star Clusters > Ephemeris: 12/08/2025 – Hyades, half sisters of the Pleiades

Ephemeris: 12/08/2025 – Hyades, half sisters of the Pleiades

December 8, 2025

This is Ephemeris for Monday, December 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 54 minutes, setting at 5:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:08. The Moon, 3 days before last quarter, will rise at 9:19 this evening.

At 8 o’clock this evening the constellation of Orion the hunter is still in the act of rising with one leg still stuck in the snow. What is above him is the constellation of Taurus the bull. His face is a letter V of stars or as a letter A, is the star cluster called the Hyades. In Greek myth the stars are the half sisters of the Pleiades, which are right above them. The Hyades star cluster is very special. They don’t look as splashy as the Pleiades which are younger and still have their hot blue white stars. However, the Hyades are much closer, a third as far as the Pleiades. In fact they’re close enough to be measured by trigonometry using Earth’s orbit as the base of a triangle, before satellites. Which was critical in measuring distances beyond the solar system.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

The Pleiades and Hyades with Orion rising in the east
The Pleiades and Hyades with Orion rising in the east at 8 PM tonight. Created with Stellarium, labels added using LibreOffice Draw.
A closeup of the Pleiades and Hyades in their evening in late autumn orientation
A closeup of the Pleiades and Hyades in their evening in late autumn orientation. Credit: Bob Moler.
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