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What's the deal with Pleiades? Almost all cultures watched and had a name for Pleiades. It's a group of stars in the Taurus constellation, six of which are visible to the naked eye. Pleiades is usually associated with agriculture and moisture/rainfall. The ancients knew this cluster as the "rainy stars" because their rising heralded the beginning of autumn and the onset of the rainy season in many parts of the world. Inca farmers watched Pleiades to assess future crops. Early Greek seamen knew them as the "sailing stars" and would only sail when the stars were visible at night. One of the Navajos' names for the group is the "Hard Flint Boys", a name we find particularly suggestive and delightful. Subaru is the Japanese name for Pleiades.
Where is Pleiades anyway? It depends on the time of year. Pleiades always lies near the ecliptic (the path of the sun). Around the first of November it will be rising in the east (about where the sun did) just at twilight. In early February the Hard Flint Boys will be directly overhead at twilight. By early May they'll be setting just at twilight, ahead of Orion. During May and early June Pleiades is absent from the sky--it can't be seen because it's too close to the sun. Then it appears (and remains) as a morning star until November. Between November and May watch for The Hard Flint Boys dancing and scuffling along the ecliptic. Pleiades is a little hard to see, to many it appears as a small cloud. It's appearance varies from night to night depending on atmospheric viewing conditions. Sometimes, when conditions are good, you can see all the 'Seven Sisters' twinkling. First find Orion's Belt--the three stars, close together, in a straight line. Then follow the indicated line in the figure below, it points to Pleiades. The figure below is Orion and Pleiades when they're directly overhead.
Another way to find Pleiades First find the North Star, it's at the end of the Little Dipper's handle. The red line indicates the direction to Pleiades (always and for your lifetime), follow the red line to the ecliptic and there will be Pleiades. What and where is the ecliptic? It's the path taken by the sun. So any time you can see the North Star (and Little Dipper) you'll have an idea of the location of Pleiades. Finding it will require some hand and arm waving. With one hand mark out the red line path, with the other trace the path of the sun. When they intersect--bingo. This method gives you a quick way to know whether Pleiades is in the night sky. The graphic below is for February 8, the end of the Nightway Season when Pleiades is directly overhead at twilight.
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