Taurus

Pleiades Seven Sisters

M45, Subaru, Seven Sisters

catalogue / cluster listing · high confidence

The tiny blue dipper of the Pleiades is the classic binocular showpiece. Most observers see six or seven stars naked-eye; 7x50s turn it into a bright granular swarm.

Central RA: 03^h 46^m 52.0^s
Central Dec: +24° 10′ 13″
Brightest member: V 2.87
Best months from 50°N: December–March evenings
Suggested instrument: 7x50
Approx. span: 1.0°

Finder context

This wider chart is deliberately schematic: it uses nearby bright-star context and boxes the asterism’s member-star footprint, but it does not draw official constellation boundaries or promise horizon/season precision.

Framing: Approximate member-star span: 59′; use at least 3.0° field for context.

Observing and imaging

Naked eye

Possible as a haze or partial pattern only from darker skies; use naked-eye stars nearby for the hop.

Binoculars

Best treated as a binocular field; start with 7×50 or similar and allow roughly 59′ of pattern spread.

Small scope

Use low power only; higher magnification breaks the pattern into separate stars.

Imaging

Compact: a short telephoto or small refractor can frame the whole pattern with surrounding context.

Observability from your latitude

Uses this asterism’s centroid RA/Dec: transit altitude, hours above 20°, and a month-scale evening window. Default is Edmonton-ish 50°N.

Latitude 50°NMonth Sky darkness Bortle 4 · limit V 6.1

Naked-eye visibility by sky class

Approximate limiting magnitudes: Bortle 3 ≈ V 6.6, Bortle 5 ≈ V 5.6, Bortle 7 ≈ V 4.6. The shape is counted recognisable when at least 70% of defining stars clear the limit.

Bortle 3: 7/7 stars — fully visibleBortle 5: 7/7 stars — fully visibleBortle 7: 6/7 stars — partial

Member stars

Name	Bayer / Flamsteed	HR	RA J2000	Dec J2000	V mag
Alcyone	25Eta Tau	HR 1165	03^h 47^m 29.1^s	+24° 06′ 18″	2.87
Atlas	27 Tau	HR 1178	03^h 49^m 09.7^s	+24° 03′ 12″	3.63
Electra	17 Tau	HR 1142	03^h 44^m 52.5^s	+24° 06′ 48″	3.70
Maia	20 Tau	HR 1149	03^h 45^m 49.6^s	+24° 22′ 04″	3.87
Merope	23 Tau	HR 1156	03^h 46^m 19.6^s	+23° 56′ 54″	4.18
Taygeta	19 Tau	HR 1145	03^h 45^m 12.5^s	+24° 28′ 02″	4.30
Pleione	28 Tau	HR 1180	03^h 49^m 11.2^s	+24° 08′ 12″	5.09

Source and confidence

catalogue / cluster listing; high confidence. Cluster or catalogue-associated asterism cross-checked against Sky Catalogue 2000.0 plus BSC5 member-star data.

Citations

Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.: Hoffleit, D. & Warren, W.H. Jr. (1991). Positions, V magnitudes, Bayer/Flamsteed identifiers. source
Star Names and Their Meanings: Allen, R.H. (1899). Public-domain skylore and traditional names.
Sky Catalogue 2000.0: Hirshfeld, A. & Sinnott, R.W. (eds.). Vol. 2: Double Stars, Variable Stars and Nonstellar Objects. Used for cluster/asterism cross-checks.
The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues: ESA SP-1200 (1997). Used as the modern astrometric reference named by the atlas; the MVP pages expose BSC5 J2000 fields for the plotted bright-star members.