The Pleiades star cluster is also known as the Seven Sisters. That’s because seven of its stars are fairly easy to pick out. They form a small but prominent dipper.

In Greek mythology, the stars represented the daughters of Atlas, one of the Titans – the ancient gods who reigned before the gods of Olympus. As with many groups of siblings, though, one stands out: Alcyone, the brightest star in the cluster.

It’s actually a lot like its other bright siblings – the standouts in a family of more than a thousand stars. The top stars are all quite impressive – bigger, heavier, hotter, and brighter than the Sun. And as seen from Earth, Alcyone is the most impressive of them all.

Because of its great mass, the star has already moved out of the “prime” phase of life – even though it’s about four and half billion years younger than the Sun.

Alcyone rotates in a hurry – so fast that it bulges outward at the equator. That high speed flings hot gas from the equator into space. And before long, the nuclear furnace at the star’s core will shut down, so Alcyone will expel all the gas in its outer layers. That will leave only the star’s dead core – a white dwarf – the faint ember of a once mighty star.

The Pleiades is in the east at nightfall. It stands above the bright star Aldebaran and the brighter planet Jupiter. The cluster doesn’t set until the wee hours of morning.

More reflections about the Pleiades tomorrow.

Script by Damond Benningfield