Sirius Stargazing: The Pleiades (M45)

[feaLtyheart]

i'm soo inLove with pleiades ! :)-3

[XM8rifle]

Pleiades is beautiful! I can actually see it with the naked eye in light polluted Central Jersey.

[MIDNAq1LINK]

Clear skies my ass. Living near a city sucks! Light pollution is one of my least favorite things ever! *sigh*

[thewebmaster93]

I think the reson why most people don't care about the cosmos anymore is because the intense light polution took away the breathtaking view of the night sky our ancestors had.

[pytko3]

@thewebmaster93 The real reason is because Venus and Mars are dead worlds. Why explore space, if there is no one and nothing out there?

[daslimshady1]

thankyou for this, im only twelve but i hope to go to bristol uni soon and study astronomy. In my spare time i go on google earth and look at the stars and study because unfortuantly i live in a city :L

[KARLish33]

One good pair of binoculars to watch M45 is the Celestron 25X70 Skymaster. They

cost 75$ on Ebay. It's a big bang for the buck!

[TheAuroraBlaze]

Such a beautiful cluster for such a tragic myth! I love your videos, but it would be nice if you mentioned the Greek myths behind the stars. Like you mention the name "seven sisters" but not why they have that name. Little details like that make a huge difference :D Great video though! Very informative! Also, is Asterope a binary star?

[TalmadgeGray]

These videos are amazing and very informative.

[AmyK007]

Fantastic video, thank you.

[BrokHomz]

i was SOOO confused because for the longest time I thought it was the little dipper and i KNEW that it was not located due north!

[hich101]

Who has created seven heavens in harmony? No incongruity canst thou see in the creation of the Gracious God. Then look again. Seest thou any flaw? [67:4]

Aye, look again, and yet again, thy sight will only return unto thee confused and fatigued, having seen no incongruity. [67:5]

[italicslob]

i have looked at this for years not knowing it is called the pleiades..

[ryancolemanstudios]

The Pleiades are one heck of a sight.

[splattyfish]

Nice video, don't know why all the negative votes.

[moonasha]

When I saw "Sirius Stargazing" it took me a second to get it, then I screamed "Ohhhhh fuck you" and my roommates think I'm crazy.

[deconverts]

AndromedasWake?

[danoso0931]

@98TheBlack Vertebrates, including humans, have a blind spot in our eyes, because the optical nerves are in front of the retina, and at the center they make a hole through it to get back to the brain. Interestingly, cephalopods, like the squid and octopus, do not have this blind spot, as their eyes have a "better design"

[RaCoNeRz1]

my penis hurts ouch!!!

[mvp111MCA]

the best time and place to see the Pleiades is in the desert at night... I still keep vivid image of the seven sisters .. when I was in Merzouga sahara South east of Morocco. I recommend you that place to see them clear with no pollution disturbing your sight .. I have been in Europe for some years now ..I do miss them :(

[WalkInTruth3]

He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD is His name. (Amos 5:8)

[jarze74]

Bad thing about that is, this being a video website, and there's basically nothing in that video couldn't be seen or read from for example wikipedia. I was hoping something extra, but pictures of the stars were only still pictures.

[royism]

The Pleiades is known as Subaru in Japan. (The Japanese automaker uses the constellation in it's logo). I recall from Astronomy studies a few years back, we briefly discussed  this constellation and it's importance in Japanese culture.

[Nu13th]

@royism Thanks, I've looked at that Subaru logo for years and never thought to ask what it means. Now I know. Cool

[nchiley]

Please make more of these video's

[FoulOwl]

Good video.I think he's exaggerating a bit on the necessity of clear skies to split the doubles and detect the nebulosity.I have no trouble at all detecting nebulosity with a 70mm refractor.And same goes with the small central double...piece of cake.I prefere my 70 or 90mm for this asterism.The 125mm doesnt allow me to get the whole object into frame.Sorta like using a bulldozier to plant petunias.

[Muuzip99]

Very good. Thank you!

[careykaren]

This should be a podcast on iTunes!

[MrChristian326]

Very informative. The Pleiades is one of my favorite objects to look at when I go star gazing. Thanks for posting.

[caste2510]

@MrChristian326 the pleiades are supposed to be our creators =)

[EatMyLeadMD]

one of my fav astrological objects, just because its so easy to see with the naked eye and visually pleasing even with severe light pollution.

ive always pronounced it "plee-adees"

i must watch more videos like this to see how many others ive got wrong lol :D

[nkwheaton]

Looks like the beginning of Urantia Book. Hmm.

[esteban0321]

Thank you so much for the posts. I have recently become very interested in stargazing and this should be quit helpful. One question you said it looks like a little dipper, to avoid any confusion, it is in fact the "little dipper" right? Obviously brand new to this whole thing so pardon the stupid questions.

[jbrunson88]

nope :)

The Little Dipper is always around the northern horizon (it contains the North Star, Polaris). Pleides rises in the east (almost due east in the Texas Panhandle). around 11pm, i can look straight up and see it.

Just start looking east about an a hour after sundown and look for a smear/blur about the size of a pencil eraser at arms length.

if you still can't find it, let me know. it is definitely worth seeing! :)

[theshadowify]

Pleides is much smaller than the big dipper. I like to call it the micro dipper. Sometimes it can be hard to see at night because it is dim. It is easier to see if you dont look dirctly at it. Look to the side of it. Your pupils in your eyes are made more for the daytime not night. But you have cones in your eye that work better at night. So if you look to the side of the object, the cones can pick it up better.

[Frosti2008]

I love this generic man.

[Funzhine]

I got my binoculars today and my right led light but the moon is right on it today so i hope i can check it out some other time .

Also there's allot off airplane trials in the sky :/

[thirdclass2006]

Now that I've seen this, I'll have to endeavour to "split" those various stars!

Unfortunately, I don't have binoculors, and have to do with my 4" Newtonian reflector.

[rabbitpirate]

Hey congrats on the plug from Phil on his Bad Astronomy website, that is bound to increase your viewership.

[FluffMachine]

PHIL!

[capilot]

At star parties, when talking to tourists, I often refer to the Pleiades as "The tiny dipper"

[visigothsatthegates]

thanks for this series. I used to star gaze as a kid with my Dad, but I forgot practically all he taught me and want to regain this knowledge

[kalamain]

Finally got my new bins out tonight after all the rain we have had of late.

I found the cluster easy enough and I could 'split' Asterope. Although I did find the pair in the centre of the cluster I could not 'split' it at all.

I could not find the one next to Alcyone at all. Could it be that the brightness was too much? Even though I could find the others?

Anyway....Keep up the good work.

[ChaosAngel999]

M45 is one of my favorite open clusters because of the distinct shape, easy of visibility even in the city's light pollution, and the fact that it comes out for Winter, my favorite season.

These videos are inspiring me to convince my photography fiend friend to go out one night to take some pictures.

[BIGFACE08]

i saw m45 with my 15x70 bins awesome sight

[wiseodd]

Hi Wake.

Im not much into astronomy as such, but ihve been following your work in AndromedasWake for a while. In my opinion, you do some very good video work (im a professional web tv producer).

This i just a big thanx for your work :)

Rigtig godt arbejde, både med AW og Sirius Stargazing!

[803brando]

TK what impact does ambient light have on ones efforts to see stars a little further away than what can be seen with the naked eye? i live on the west coast of the US, near a mountain range that has a high desert on the back side with little to no ambient light for hundreds of square miles.

[martiangrundy]

OH, just a little tip.

If anyone is having trouble seeing a faint object, look just to the side of it, our eyes are slightly more sensitive just off centre.

you'de be surprised just what you can see, with a little practice, and properly dark adapted eyes.

[geoffdoor]

@martiangrundy here is another tip ...stop making shit programmes that are inaccurate ...and stop playing with the rubbish after effects in elements ...you look like you ve got cancer you fucking wanker ...and your opening credits are like stargate...

[martiangrundy]

A great little object, for those with reasonable bino's, or a decent little scope, is the Ring nebula, in Lyra.

It's just like a little ghostly doughnut.

And it's always nice and high, up in the sky.

Another awesome thing is the Andromeda galaxy, which is actually a naked eye object, but only from the darkest of skies. But one can get a glimps, with bino's and small scope. The actual photons you'll catch with your retina left there 2.2 million years ago.

if that doesn't blow ya away, I give up.

[ConfusedContrail]

I don't think anyone is going to be able to see the donut shape of the Ring Nebula with binoculars. They simply don't have enough magnification to make it appear much more than a stellar object. Andromeda M31 however is an excellent object for both binoculars and telescopes.

[martiangrundy]

Hi there.

I didn't mean to give the impression the ring neb in Lyra was suitable for Bino's, but it's fine for a decent quality smallish scope.

[1RadicalOne]

While using Celestia, I've seen the Pleiades (from Sol) repeatedly - they ARE striking.

[1RadicalOne]

AW, are you actually working with this "Phil Plait"? It IS a small world...

[AndromedasWake]

@1RadicalOne Unfortunately not! But I met him at TAM London where he agreed to film that little clip. He's an absolutely smashing chap. If you were there, you may remember he dropped by our big charity blogtv show to help raise money for MSF. He's the president of the James Randi Educational Foundation and I couldn't think of a better man for the job.

[senoctar]

You could point out other means of locating objects in the sky. I use Cartes du Ciel on PC, and there's an awesome app for Android phones called Google Sky (the shoould be similar apps fo the iPhone).

[HolidayNova]

excellent.. i'm going to the mountains in Croatia again where I cant see my hand at night when it's overcast. The stars are crystal clear. I'll by and bring some binoculars. I'll be going to northern Sweden soon but I don't know if it will be overcast, it seems to be overcast every day in stockholm.

[gothyhannah]

hello =] just wondering were bouts in the uk can u see m45? am from the northern part just wondering if i could see it thanks :)

[AndromedasWake]

@gothyhannah RIght now Taurus is already up after sunset, so look East/South-East at about 6pm to see it.

[gothyhannah]

thanks love :) great videos by the way am a amiture at the moment x

[NordboDK]

Just an idea: A tutorial on how to adjust binoculars. My experience is that most people don't know how to do it properly.

[julsHz]

Good stuff... subbed.

[lilgrlkissesnhugs]

My favorite constellation!

[paulusmagirl]

'Nebulosity', a new word for me, I like it!!

[grenangle]

A young Patrick Moore.

I've got a 12" dobsonian and even in Sydney it's great. Trouble is moving it.

[SAsgarters]

Nice. :)

I really have to find out what I can do with my 20-60x80 spotting scope.

[spenceII]

I am getting an 8 inch Newtonian reflector telescope that my grandad is fixing. First telescope :D

[flyingfisbeefilms]

Just amazing how you spend the time to do this! Pleiades( M45) has always been one of my favourite clusters. We've had several nights of clear skies and she( an affectionate term) always attracts my attention

[Trusseck]

This should be aired on television!

[TheFifthApes]

I'm looking at getting a Celestron Nexstar 8SE or another SCT of comparable size and price. Does anybody have any suggestions on whether I should get the Nexstar or another scope around the same price? ~$1000

(I have a 5" Astromaster now with no motor... It was good to start with but it's no good for photography)

[ConfusedContrail]

If you wan't to get into serious astrophotography, You should get something on an eq mount, not on single fork type alt azimuth mount.

[TheFifthApes]

Yep, thanks. I've been doing some reading and you're right, the alt az. mount would give too much field-rotation for long-exposure photography.

I'm now looking at a C8 on an CG-5GT mount. It's amazing that it's almost a $500 difference for the EQ mount. Damn this expensive hobby!

Clear skies.

[kalamain]

I bought a small telescope last year and have been having great fun with it.

But light pollution here in the north of England is a pain. B-(

I have to drive about 40 mins to find anywhere with less pollution.

Anyone know a website that lists good DARK places?

[magick205]

@kalamain: I wish. There is a good jpg floating around that shows the world at night. Not sure about the resolution. Personally, I'd just love to drive back to the Colorado/Kansas border. Some of the darkest skies I've seen since I was a kid in Michigan. What kind of scope? Reflector or refractor?

[kalamain]

I found a map at the CfDS site that TK put in the sidebar. Where I go is around where one of the better places is.

If I want anything better I need to go up into Scotland. Which seems a bit much for a few hours skywatching!

And its a small 2" reflector. Not the best in the world...But it was cheap and good. In time I will get a better one (I want the one Tf00t has!)

[magick205]

@kalamain: Oh, excellent. The only real problem is that with such a high latitude, you won't see much of the southern skies. Perhaps a run across the Irish channel? So, Alt/Az, or Equatorial Mounting?

[kalamain]

I'd be better off going to Egypt.....In that case!

Lots of open skies and little pollution. And as its on the equator I shoudl get a good amount of north/south view.

Its a plain swivel and fork setup. Nothing special. I wanted the one with the motor on it...But that was too expensive.

[magick205]

@kalamain: LOL. Well, Galileo started out with much worse. Now we know what to get you for Christmas. A beginner level go-to scope can run about $300-$350 depending on where you get it. Once you start getting diameter, you crave more. And then come the addons. Scope pads, drives, CCDs and better objectives.

[kalamain]

I'm hoping to save up about a £1,000 for a GOOD scope.

One that is REALLY good and will last. This one I have now is ok for teh Moon and finding stars. But I can't see Jupiter beyond a fuzzy dot. I can make out colours JUST....But...Well....Bigger is better B-)

[MilletGtr]

Great videos, this cluster has intrigued me ever since I was a kid :D

[BoardwalkAstronomer]

Once again. Very very good. Oozes professionalism. And you got Phil Plait!!!! Awesome!!!! Fav'd

[Josan117]

The Pleiades has long been my favourite object in the skies.

[olasonn]

Wonderful stuff.

I'm 37, a teacher, and for the first time getting really interested in Astronomy.

Thanks for making it easy to understand and accessible.

[DreamingTree33]

Much thanks for doing this!

[safewaysecurity]

6000 years ago there were no lights. Then god said " Let there be light ". I LOVE looking at the skies and realizing the beauty that God created for us. Thank you Sirius for showing us god gift to human kind. =)

[havntthslightst]

Rather ironic and amusing consider the topics addressed in his other channel.

/AndromedasWake

[safewaysecurity]

I know dude I was sent to this channel from his original. I was just trolling. If you looked at my profile for 2 secondds you would see that everything you saw me say was for the lulz.

[blurglide]

Thank you for doing this.

[etvander]

fucking radical

[zapo147]

How much are those binoculars gonna run me? I think I'll ask my Dad about his old pair though, I've always wanted to do this!

[puncheex]

Google binoculars and start window shopping. In the first place I looked I found a pair of 10x30 "birding" binoculars for about $65 USD.  Check out eBay, or even craigslist.

[AndromedasWake]

@zapo147 You can get 10x50 binocs for as little as £10 in some shops and online these days. You don't need an expensive pair to get started. My £10 pair is actually closely comparable with a pair I bought last year for £110!

[neilan15]

As it is nearing christmas, i believe it is a safe bet that Lidl will be doing their 10x50 binocs at less that £20 and hopefully their "lidl scpoe" a 70mm aperture refractor that usually sells at £60-70, complete with a decent tripod, a rectifying 1.5 barlow, 3 EPs and cartes du ciel, these were how I began astronomy and I couldn't reccomend them highly enough :3 clear skies TK

[AndromedasWake]

@neilan15 YES! I always forget about Lidl's deal, but it's great. The scope/binocs are Bresser, very well made for the price. I believe the scope has a german EQ mount as well. Lidl's 10x50 binocs are absolutely excellent value, I still use my pair after two years. Chuck the barlow in the bin though, cheap barlows are a nightmare! Cartes du Ciel is what I use to make the starcharts for this series.

[neilan15]

The scope I bought came on an alt-az mount but there is an arm that angles the plate it sits on similar to a wedge mount. I only use the rectifying barlow for terrestrial viewing. Do you use stellarium or celestia?

[AndromedasWake]

@neilan15 Stellarium and Celestia are both great programmes and make good teaching aides, particularly Celestia. But I personally use CdC for telescope control and making star charts and Starry Night Pro for just about everything else. CdC is exceptionally well featured for free software, but I'm entitled to a free license of SNP :) Stellarium can do spherical projection which is great for mobile planetaria.

[kalamain]

I just bought a set online for £29.99.

It seems a good set. Free red torch with it.

Its probably a little more pricey than others. But its still cheap enough.

As others have said. Google is your friend!

Maybe Ebay has some aswell?

[sofiarune]

I agree that we need to preserve the night sky. I think it's sad that so many people in the West haven't REALLY seen what the night sky looks like. I was in the middle of no where rural Indonesia last summer and the sky was just breathtaking.

[RSthugg1n]

Its just mostly eastern united states and the west coast, mid west and mid east have it the best.

[sofiarune]

Still betcha it's nothing compared to where I was where there were almost no lights at all. I was in SE Sulawesi, you should look it up on that map that shows Earth's lights at night time. It's totally dark there haha.

[jvictorthegreat]

I live in South America. These stars are hard to find here. But, anyways, keep it up. 5 stars.

[fishbone937]

wooooot

[Cellsplitter]

:) I've always wanted to try stargazing. But even in this small local town the light pollution is horrible x_x

[puncheex]

Try to get yourself a ways out of town; a couple of miles will do. If possible, try to get a hill or a treeline between you and whatever source of light is out there. If you know in what direction you want to concentrate, try to be on that side of the lights, so they're at your back. I went east of Denver (city of 2 million) about 25 miles to view comet Hyakutake in 1996; once the quarter moon set, the view was spectacular; it covered well over half the sky in length.

[Cellsplitter]

Yes I know going away would help :P but that takes a bit more dedication (and transportation lol).

[puncheex]

I understand. You can locate good places for observations at darksky (dot) org.

[TheReasonWhyGuy]

I live in a desert... so we have good 'seeing' here :D

[darkdragonsoul99]

dude I remember a show like this on tv when i was a kid honestly you're just as good.

[vava54own]

Nice intro :D