dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (11/21/84)
The Pleiades is the littlest little dipper in the sky. More -- right after this. November 21 The Pleiades This month you can try to locate one of the most famous sights in the night sky. It's the Pleiades star cluster, otherwise known as the Seven Sisters. The Pleiades is now midway up in the east in mid-evening. If you look and pick out ANYTHING conspicuous in that part of the sky -- what you pick will probably be the Pleiades. The star cluster is small and distinct -- and appears to be wrapped in a veil of haze. Most people see it as six stars in the shape of a tiny dipper. Our legend about the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, is from Greek mythology. It's said that one sister hid her face in shame after marrying a mortal -- which is why we see six stars, instead of seven. But many cultures had stories about these stars, simply because they're so noticeable. A Polynesian myth tells of a star that KNEW it was beautiful -- and boasted about it -- always a mistake in mythology. A Polynesian god was angered, and hurled the nearby star Aldebaran toward the braggart star. The large star shattered into six smaller stars! It's said that to this day, you can listen carefully one a clear night -- and hear the six little stars whispering among themselves that they're now more beautiful than ever. You might agree -- if you look for the Pleiades star cluster -- a tiny misty dipper of at least six stars -- midway up in the eastern sky these November evenings. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin