Think you have good eyesight? Try counting the stars in the Pleiades tonight
How and when I'm watching it Counting the stars you can see in the Pleiades is a fun way to test your naked-eye observing skills.
Key points
- What's happening and when to look You can easily see the Pleiades as a bright misty patch in your peripheral vision during winter.
- If you know Orion, which rises later, the Pleiades are above and to the right of it from mid-northern latitudes.
- In fact, six is a common naked-eye result under decently dark conditions (note that the shape of the six brightest is like a mini Big Dipper /Plough), while people with sharp eyesight under darker skies may see more.
They're one of the closest clusters to the solar system and some of the youngest stars you can see with the naked eye — just 100 million years old.
The number you personally distinguish depends on eyesight, sky brightness, atmospheric conditions and how well your eyes have adapted to darkness.
Additional details
- It's one of the best demonstrations of the technique, with its fainter stars seemingly popping into view as your more light-sensitive peripheral vision takes over.
- I go outside, find the Pleiades and count how many stars I can see.
- (Image credit: Haitong Yu via Getty Images) The Pleiades, also known as Messier 45 (M45) or the "Seven Sisters," are an open star cluster in Taurus.
- So tonight, don't just find the Pleiades — count them.
- In fact, you're likely to catch their collective brightness in your peripheral vision every time you go outside and look up.
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