Fun scene in the early morning of the 6th: The Moon and the Pleiades "Gathering in the Night Sky"
Astronomical science experts explain that on the early morning of September 6th, a crescent moon will travel to the Taurus constellation, merging with the famous Pleiades star cluster in Taurus. If the weather is fine at that time, the interested public in our country is expected to witness the interesting scene of "Moon Girl" and "Seven sisters" getting together in the night sky at a close distance.
Taurus is one of the twelve constellations of the ecliptic, with its main bright stars arranged in a V-shaped structure and high recognition.
Lai Dihui, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and a director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, introduced that a noteworthy celestial body in Taurus is the Pleiades cluster, numbered M45 in the Messier object, which is one of the closest and brightest open star clusters to us. In the past 150 million years, it has formed over 1000 stars.
In ancient China, this star cluster belonged to the Pleiades of the twenty-eight constellations, so we used to refer to it as the Pleiades cluster. The Pleiades is the fourth constellation of the Western White Tiger Seven Constellations in ancient China, including the Pleiades, Tiana, Moon, Tianyin, Chugao, Tianyuan, Rolling Tongue, Tianslang, and Lishi.
In Chinese mythology and legend, the Pleiades, also known as the Pleiades Rooster, is a large rooster six or seven feet tall, responsible for "morning crowing" and also known as the Pleiades Star Official. Although the Pleiades star cluster has a large number of stars, only six or seven of the brightest stars can be seen with the naked eye, so it is also often called the Seven Sisters Cluster and the Seven sisters Cluster.
"Entering September, the Pleiades star cluster will appear in the eastern sky before dawn. The Pleiades star cluster is relatively dim in the night sky, and the public needs to carefully search to discover it," said Lai Dihui.
After meeting Jupiter in the early morning of September 5th, the moon continued its "romantic journey" and moved to the side of the Pleiades cluster in the early morning of September 6th. As time passed, the moon and the Pleiades cluster gradually approached, and by 4am on the 6th, they reached the moment of convergence. The angular distance between the two was only 1.5 degrees, equivalent to the apparent diameter of three full moons. At this time, the horizon was higher and easier to observe.
Lai Dihui reminded that due to the low convex phase of the moon, which is close to the last quarter and has a higher brightness, it partially obscures the light of the Pleiades star cluster. Interested public should stay away from cities with severe light pollution and observe in areas with less light pollution, such as suburbs and rural areas. Under clear weather conditions, one can see with the naked eye a pile of sparkling sapphires near the moon, which is the Pleiades cluster. The public who enjoys astrophotography can try to leave a beautiful impression of both.