How to find the Pleiades
When to look
November, December, January, February evenings
Face east, then high in the south
A tiny, misty cluster like a very small dipper. Most eyes count six or seven stars. Autumn and winter evenings: east after dark in November, high in the south in January. The drawing below is made from the real positions of its 7 stars, as the sky looks when you face it, with bigger dots for brighter stars. No telescope needed.
The Pleiades are a tiny bunch of stars, like a little cloud. Count how many stars you can see. Most people see six or seven.
The Pleiades are a star cluster, a family of stars born together, in the constellation Taurus. On autumn evenings they rise in the east; in January they're high in the south. Binoculars show dozens of stars.
The Pleiades are about 440 light-years away and young for stars, around 100 million years old. The cluster holds hundreds of stars; the brightest are hot and blue. Many cultures gave them names; we use the astronomers' one.
The stars in it
Alcyone, Atlas, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Pleione. The brightest is Alcyone.
How to find it
- Go out after dark with a grown-up, and give your eyes ten minutes away from screens.
- Face east, then high in the south and look for: a tiny, misty cluster like a very small dipper. Most eyes count six or seven stars.
- Hold up this page's drawing or the printed card and match the shape to the sky. If the sky is clear.
More star patterns
“Star patterns turn through the night, so the shape may be tipped on its side. Turn your head, not the sky.”