• Key Information

  • Pleiades

  • Type
    Open Star Cluster
  • Diameter
    43 light years
  • Distance
    144 light years
  • Total Stars
    1,000 or more
  • Date of Discovery
    Unknown
  • Learning Point
  • The Pleiades are an open star cluster that has 1,000 stars can be seen with our own eyes. It is made up of a few really bright stars which won't be around for long compared to many other stars.
  • Project
  • Find out the names of the main stars of the Pleiades.
  • Location
  • Located in
    Near Taurus
  • Fun Facts
  • The nine brightest stars in the Pleiades are called Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygeta, Celaeno, and Alcyone (seven sisters) and Atlas and Pleione (parents).
  • There are many binary stars (two stars in the same system) in the Pleiades, especially among the largest stars.
  • It also contains main brown dwarfs, which are a star that is slightly larger than a planet like Jupiter, but smaller than regular stars.
  • Some cloud-like nebula structures can be seen through a telescope around some of the stars. These are just dust and gas that the cluster is passing through.
  • Most likely over the next few hundred million years the cluster of stars will gradually drift apart.