~ St. Maarten’s Backyard Astronomy for July 7 & 8 ~
Sun rises at 5:42am
Sun sets at 6:52pm
Moon phase: Waning crescent moon, 4th quarter phase
Moon rises at 12:45am
Moon sets at 1:28pm
There is something so compelling and lovely about the Pleiades cluster. It’s a tiny “constellation” that always catches my eye. Also called “the seven sisters” the arrangement of the faint stars resembles a miniature Little Dipper, at least to me.
Right now is a good time for night owls and early risers to get a good view of the Pleiades, along with its celestial neighbours. All over the world, the moon, the Pleiades cluster and Aldebaran are clearly seen in the eastern sky before dawn. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus the Bull.
If you have binoculars, use them. They’ll bring the Pleiades into a better view which is worth the effort because of the Pleiades’ gossamer beauty. The “gossamer” effect is due to interstellar gas and dust, which clings to this region of space as a remnant of the formation of these young stars. Yes, that’s right, you heard me – young stars. These stars are much younger than our sun, and they are hotter and larger than our sun. At about 400 light-years away, they are often thought of as a “stellar nursery.”
Telescopically, there are hundreds of stars visible in the Pleiades cluster, and they are all bound to each other by gravity. The stars in the Pleiades cluster are thought to have formed together around 100 million years ago, making them 1/50th the age of our sun.
Most Northern Hemisphere observers look for the Pleiades in the wintertime, as they are visible in the evening hours. Yet, like all other stars, these are to be seen in the morning sky just as much as in the evening sky, even though not at the same time of year. In fact, if you know when and where to look, the Pleiades cluster is visible to some extent every night of the year from about mid-June until early the following May, when the sun comes between us and this cluster. For several weeks before and after May 20, the sun is located too close to the Pleiades along our line of sight for the cluster to be seen easily.
After gazing east at the Pleiades, turn around and look toward the west! You see the most brilliant star-like object in the morning sky, the red planet Mars, now nearly at a brightness peak.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
