US EditionPleiades star cluster revealed as just one part of a vast stellar family
Researchers identified 3,091 stars forming the Greater Pleiades Complex, revealing the cluster is 20 times larger and reshaping understanding of stellar families, UNC-Chapel Hill said.
- On November 12, astronomers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced that researchers uncovered thousands of previously unseen stars forming the Greater Pleiades Complex, about 20 times larger than the Pleiades star cluster.
- The team combined rotation measurements from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite with position and motion data from European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope, using a Bayesian 'gyro-tagging' method that treats stellar rotation as a cosmic clock.
- Using clustering algorithms on that dataset, researchers identified 3,091 stars fitting membership tests across nearly 600 parsecs, or about 2,000 light-years.
- The method could help reconstruct the Milky Way's family tree and reveal whether the Sun was once part of a stellar clan, researchers said.
- Beyond science, the Pleiades serves as an astrophysical benchmark about 440 light-years from Earth and weighs roughly 850 suns, with cultural ties to the Old Testament, the Talmud, Matariki, and Subaru logo.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Astro Bob: Seven Sisters star cluster has more than 3,000 'lost siblings'
Just about everybody knows the Pleiades star cluster, also called the Seven Sisters. They represent the daughters of the ancient Greek gods Atlas and Pleione. After Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper, it's a familiar and beloved celestial sight. The brightest members, which resemble a tiny dipper or kite, are bunched close together, which gives them a fuzzy appearance. Although the cluster is visible in the morning sky as early as June, it's closel…
Astro Bob: Seven Sisters star cluster has more than 3,000 'lost siblings'
Just about everybody knows the Pleiades star cluster, also called the Seven Sisters. They represent the daughters of the ancient Greek gods Atlas and Pleione. After Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper, it's a familiar and beloved celestial sight. The brightest members, which resemble a tiny dipper or kite, are bunched close together, which gives them a fuzzy appearance. Although the cluster is visible in the morning sky as early as June, it's closel…
Astro Bob: Seven Sisters star cluster has more than 3,000 'lost siblings'
Just about everybody knows the Pleiades star cluster, also called the Seven Sisters. They represent the daughters of the ancient Greek gods Atlas and Pleione. After Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper, it's a familiar and beloved celestial sight. The brightest members, which resemble a tiny dipper or kite, are bunched close together, which gives them a fuzzy appearance. Although the cluster is visible in the morning sky as early as June, it's closel…
Meet the Seven Sisters' 3,000 lost siblings
The Pleiades star cluster is part of a much larger complex that stretches across the entire sky, a new study shows. Of all star clusters, the Pleiades are the most famous: Their brightest members, known as the Seven Sisters, are a delight to the naked eye. Look at them tonight, one hour after dark, right above the eastern horizon — but be aware that what you're seeing (and what early humans have painted on cave walls and mysterious Bronze Age di…
‘Stubborn’ astronomer makes major ‘lost sisters’ finding | UNC-Chapel Hill
Growing up in Colorado, Andy Boyle spent summers camping in the mountains with his cross-country teammates. He gazed at the night sky, staring in wonder at the twinkling stars. As an undergraduate at the University of Colorado Boulder, he took astronomy classes and resolved to pursue a career in the field — but the journey wasn’t easy. Boyle applied to graduate programs for years before he found one that accepted him. At one point, an adviser su…
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