Pleiades

In astronomy, the Pleiades (/ˈplaɪədiːz/ or /ˈpliːədiːz/), or Seven Sisters (Messier 45 or M45), is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. The celestial entity has several meanings in different cultures and traditions.

The cluster is dominated by hot blue and extremely luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years. Dust that forms a faint reflection nebulosity around the brightest stars was thought at first to be left over from the formation of the cluster (hence the alternative name Maia Nebula after the star Maia), but is now known to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar medium, through which the stars are currently passing. Computer simulations have shown that the Pleiades was probably formed from a compact configuration that resembled the Orion Nebula. Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which it will disperse due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighborhood.

Pleiades (journal)

Pleiades: A Journal of New Writing is an award-winning biannual literary journal that publishes contemporary poetry, fiction, essays, and book reviews. It was founded by undergraduate students at the University of Central Missouri in 1981. The non-profit journal is published by the University of Central Missouri's Department of English and Philosophy. Pleiades publishes work from both established and emerging authors, and dedicates half of each issue to detailed book reviews of recent small-press poetry and fiction.Pleiades is funded by the University of Central Missouri and grants from the Missouri Arts Council. Its headquarters is in Warrensburg, Missouri.

The affiliated Pleiades Press publishes a book of poetry a year, as determined through the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Poetry Prize, co-directed by Susan Ludvigson and Wayne Miller. Recent titles have included Julianna Baggott's Compulsions of Silkworms & Bees, and Kathleen Jesme's Motherhouse.

Awards

In addition to fifteen Pushcart Prizes works from Pleiades have been selected for The Best American Poetry anthology annually since 2001.

Pleiades (Greek mythology)

The Pleiades (/ˈplaɪ.ədiːz/ or /ˈpliːədiːz/; Ancient Greek: Πλειάδες [pleːádes], Modern [pliˈaðes]), companions of Artemis, were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Cyllene. They are the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides. The Pleiades were nymphs in the train of Artemis, and together with the seven Hyades were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Bacchus.

Etymology

Classicists debate the origin of the name Pleiades. It ostensibly derives from the name of their mother, Pleione, effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione". However, in reality the name of the star-cluster almost certainly came first, and Pleione was invented to explain it.Pleiades probably actually derives from plein (to sail) - because of the cluster's importance in delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea: "the season of navigation began with their heliacal rising".

The Seven Sisters