Pleiades high near midnight

Event Date: October 31st

Time: 2:16 AM

Brief

   Happy Halloween!  Let's take a look at the Pleiades star cluster on this date at transit, for an important reason.  

We'll get into this link later, regarding the cluster on a celestial dome level.  For now, keep in mind that the declination of the Pleiades--being just a little more than that of a June-solstice Sun--gives us a chance to see it high.  The image here shows it at transit time, with a big, waning gibbous Moon a small number of degrees away.

click on image to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Detailed

By bending the sky above, we are able to show the Pleiades about 76º above the horizon.  At a latitude precisely 13.6º south of us, about that of Hawaii and many heavily-populated Mexican cities, the cluster reaches exact-zenith at transit.  Getting back to the link in the brief section, it is worth noting that the time above for the image is that of daylight savings.  Of course, centuries ago without daylight savings, the time of transit would be a little closer to just-after midnight, depending where one is in a time zone also.  Regardless of being exact, what is important to note is that on this date, the Pleiades is high enough in the sky, that it appears about the same altitude for a couple of hours.   

To find out more why a high Pleiades is significant, read more of the text for the link above...quite fascinating, for those who think about it.  In the meantime, put high-powered binoculars, or a wide-field telescope on the cluster (~25-30x) to get an excellent view of many more dim stars.  How many can you see--or even count--on a clear night, once it is high enough?