A sure sign of frosty winter is the glittering open star cluster, the Pleiades. Although, in ancient Greece, the pre-dawn appearance of this distinctive grouping marked favorable weather for sailing season. Pleiades generally translates to, “set sail.”

Honoring the seven daughters of Atlas in Greek mythology, these icy-blue stars formed at about the same time in one gigantic cloud of gas and dust around 100 million years ago. This famous stellar family is younger than the dinosaurs but due to their massively high temperatures, the loosely gravitationally connected stars will burn out faster than our Sun.

In dark skies, most people see six bright stars in a tiny dipper shape, although there are more than a thousand in this cluster. Legends arose of the Lost Pleiad, Merope, the faintest of the sisters. Her mystery permeates star-lore in cultures around the world. Perhaps the most common myth is that she hid her face in shame due to her marriage to a mortal. Some astronomers suggest the star may vary in brightness. Others theorize the stars may have altered positions over time, with Merope now located too close to another star to be perceived as a solo star.

Tonight, the waxing gibbous Moon will cozy up to the stellar sisters, pairing the luminous Moon with the sparkling blue-white brilliance of the Pleiades.