Archive
10/27/2014 – Ephemeris – The Pleiades in Greek and Native American mythology
Ephemeris for Monday, October 27th. The sun will rise at 8:13. It’ll be up for 10 hours and 25 minutes, setting at 6:38. The moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 9:38 this evening.
Visible low in the east at 10 in the evening sky can be spotted a small group of stars. It’s called the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. The Pleiades are really spectacular when seen in binoculars. It is remarkable that both the Greeks and the American Plains Indians saw this group as female stars fleeing from danger. In the former case they were fleeing the constellation Orion the giant hunter of the winter sky who will soon rise over the eastern horizon, and in the latter case a giant bear. Legend has it that the maidens fled to the top of Devils Tower in Wyoming. It’s said that the claw marks of this bear are seen in the walls of the tower. The maidens were then spirited from the top of the tower to the heavens, where we see them today. Whichever story you like the Pleiades is worth searching for.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Pleiades, about what you’d see in binoculars.
Looking to the east northeast at the Pleiades: 9 p.m. on October 27th. Created using Stellarium,
The Greek Pleiades a painting by Elihu Vedder in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Public Domain.
Legend of Devils Tower Credit: Indian Country Today Media Network
This is the illustration from http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/the-legend-of-devils-tower-3273
12/11/2012 – Ephemeris – The Pleiades and Hyades star clusters
Ephemeris for Tuesday, December 11th. The sun will rise at 8:09. It’ll be up for 8 hours and 52 minutes, setting at 5:02. The moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:13 tomorrow morning.
At 8 to 9 p.m. The constellation of Taurus the bull rises higher in the east to southeast. Taurus contains two bright clusters of stars. The most famous of these is the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. The other is a letter V shape that is the face of Taurus, the Hyades. In the Greek mythology they are half-sisters of each other, all fathered by the Titan Atlas. They are apparently fleeing from the giant Orion rising in the east. The Pleiades are the younger of the two star clusters, and there has been some problem in estimating their distance. They could be from 390 to 460 light years away. The distance to Hyades is much better known at 153 light years. It was the star cluster upon which greater distances could be measured.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Hyades (lower left) and the Pleiades (upper right). My photograph from many years ago.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 