Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CCXXVIII · Topic 37: The stars
228. Aldebaran and the Pleiades
Goal: Your child can star-hop from Orion to Aldebaran, the V of the Hyades and the little cluster of the Pleiades, and count the Pleiades.
You'll need
- A clear winter evening
- A red-covered flashlight
- Binoculars (optional)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
The lesson has a leading thought, a method with a chart of Orion, Aldebaran and the Pleiades, and nine observations on finding Aldebaran, the V-shaped Hyades and the Pleiades, and on what astronomers know about them.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Clear evenings from November to March. Find Orion first. Stargaze with an adult, in a dark spot away from roads, such as a back yard or a field you have permission to use. Dress warmly, bring a blanket, and cover a flashlight with red cellophane or a red balloon so your eyes stay used to the dark.
The leading thought
The Pleiades seem to be a little misty group of six stars, but instead there are in it three thousand stars. Half way between the Pleiades and Orion's belt is Aldebaran, an ageing ruddy star.
Find Aldebaran
Follow Orion's belt up and to the right (westward) to a bright orange star.
Can you see the figure V formed by Aldebaran and four fainter stars? Sketch the V and show where in it Aldebaran belongs. This V-shaped constellation is called the Hyades.
Find the Pleiades
Imagine a line drawn from Orion's belt to Aldebaran and extend it to not quite an equal length beyond it, and it will end near a "fuzzy little bunch" of stars which are called the Pleiades.
Count them
How many stars can you see in the Pleiades?
Why are they called the seven sisters?
Each person counts alone and whispers the number. Then look with binoculars.
What we know now
The Pleiades are a real family of stars that formed together and travel together through space, as the book suggests. Astronomers now count about a thousand stars in the cluster, rather than three thousand; it is about 440 light-years away. Aldebaran is an orange giant star much closer to us, and it only happens to line up with the Hyades.
Nature notebook
Make a star chart: Orion's belt, Aldebaran in its V, and the Pleiades, with the lines you followed. Draw the Pleiades as many dots as you could count.
Answers to the book's problems
Most people see six stars in the Pleiades; very sharp eyes on a dark night may see more. In stories the Greeks told, they were seven sisters, daughters of Atlas. Astronomers think the Pleiades are a true cluster because their stars all move together across the sky and are about the same distance from us.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.