4 ms·

It would be pretty odd to add one they couldn’t see though, right?

• lolinder 6y ago
  Yes, but as has been noted multiple times in this thread, there are more than 6 visible stars in the cluster. They're just not visible at all times of year, and certainly impossible to see for most of us who live in/near cities.
  • dotancohen 6y ago
    This is not true. The Pleiades cluster looks the same all year round. Depending on how one defines the limit of what can be seen, there are either 0 stars, or 6 stars, or 9 stars, or hundreds. But only someone with very, very exceptional eyesight under very, very exceptional conditions can actually see seven stars but not nine. Source: I've been observing the cluster, and the sky as a whole, for decades. I'll draw the locations of the six notable stars just as easily as some will draw the big dipper. And I've never, in decades of observing under many different conditions from different latitudes, ever seen seven stars.
    • cgriswald 6y ago
      I think the underlying question is, "Can Pleione be observed with the naked eye today?" > And I've never, in decades of observing under many different conditions from different latitudes, ever seen seven stars. This really only tells us about you. Even if your vision is 20/20, your experience doesn't preclude the possibility of someone else discerning Pleione. And if they can, that ability can definitely be determined by time of year; which affects not only where the Pleiades are in the sky (e.g. how much air mass you're looking through), but also things like turbulence and humidity.