Searching for my favorite constellation tonight...

Pleiades ...
Since 9th grade, after studying astronomy, I had chosen my favorite constellation. Actually, Pleiades, or "The Seven Sisters," is a "star cluster" found in the constellation of Taurus.
It's not the easiest to find, as they aren't as bright as Ursa Major, Minor, or Orion ... which seem to be the "work-horses" of star gazing. But, it's a pretty little jumble of sweet stars that chase the skies together. Look up at night ... when you find a tight cluster of pretty visible stars, count them ... I've never gotten the same number. The story is lovely, all the same. And, it is as follows:

"Orion, the great hunter, was the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Euryale, one of the Gorgons. He fell in love with Metrope, daughter of King Oenopion. When King Oenopion refused to let him marry Metrope, Orion tried to take her by force, which naturally upset the king. Helped by Dionysus (as we all know the god of wine), King Oenopion put Orion into a deep sleep and blinded him.

Orion consulted an oracle, who told him his sight would come back if went to the east and let the rays of the rising sun fall into his eyes. once his sight was restored, he lived on Crete as the huntsmen of the goddess Artemis. The Pleiades , also known as the Seven Sisters, were Artemis´ attendants. Pursued by Orion, they were rescued by the gods and turned into stars.

Artemis eventually killed Orion, jealous of his attraction to Aurora, goddess of the dawn. After his death Artemis placed Orion in the heavens as a constellation, where we can still see him pursuing the Pleiades.

The Pleiades is an open star cluster which is visible to the naked eye in the constellation Taurus. The Ancient Greeks saw seven stars in the cluster, and named them after the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. According to myth, the hunter Orion was in love with them and pursued them until the gods took them to safety, transforming them first into doves, and then into stars. Telescopes have shown that there are up to 500 stars in the cluster.

Pleiades (mythology), in Greek mythology, the seven daughters of Atlas and of Pleione, the daughter of Oceanus. Their names were Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope. According to some versions of the myth, they committed suicide from grief at the fate of their father, Atlas, or at the death of their sisters, the Hyades. Other versions made them the attendants of Artemis, goddess of wildlife and of hunting, who were pursued by the giant hunter Orion, but were rescued by the gods and changed into doves. After their death, or metamorphosis, they were transformed into stars, but are still pursued across the sky by the constellation Orion.

Maia, in Greek mythology, the eldest of the seven Pleiades, the children of Atlas and Pleione. A lover of Zeus, the ruler of the Olympian gods, Maia gave birth to Hermes. In ancient Rome she was often confused with the obscure cult deity Maia, from whom the month named Maius (May) is derived."

Greek mythology was one of my passions in high school. So,I chose the Greek interpretation of Pleiades. However, MANY cultures have their own.
Look up at the night skies soon and see if you can hunt them down. Orion does it all night long....
xoxo
Anna