The Hyades (ÆΥάδες also known as Melotte 25 or Collinder 50 or Caldwell 41) is an open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus. Its brightest stars form a "V" shape along with the red giant Aldebaran, the brightest star in the field of view, which is not part of the cluster. The Hyades, at 151 light years from Earth, form the nearest star cluster (disregarding the Ursa Major Stream). Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... In astronomy, an epoch is a moment in time for which celestial coordinates or orbital elements are specified. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Equatorial Coordinates Right ascension (abbrev. ... In astronomy, declination (abbrev. ... A light-year or lightyear (symbol: ly) is a unit of measurement of length, specifically the distance light travels in vacuum in one Julian year. ... // Headline text HEY!! HOW ARE YOU ALL?? Its nice of you to come read this page. ... In astronomy, the solar mass is a unit of mass used to express the mass of stars and larger objects such as galaxies. ... The Pleiades is one of the most famous open clusters. ... Philibert Jacques Melotte (January 29, 1880 – March 30, 1961) was a British astronomer whose parents immigrated from Belgium. ... Sir Patrick Moore presenting The Sky at Night, October 2005 Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, HonFRS, FRAS (born 4 March 1923), known as Patrick Moore, is an English amateur astronomer who has attained legendary status in British astronomy as a long-running writer, organizer and presenter of the subject. ... The Pleiades is one of the most famous open clusters. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Taurus (IPA: , Latin: , symbol , ) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. ... Aldebaran from the Arabic (الدبران al-dabarān) meaning the follower, (α Tau / α Tauri / Alpha Tauri) is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. ... The Ursa Major Moving Group is the closest moving group to Earth, with its core being located roughly 80 light years away. ...

The distance to the Hyades is known accurately because each star's radial velocity and proper motion are the same and well measured, making it easy to compute the precise distance. The Hipparcos satellite confirmed this distance to be 151 light years. Hipparcos (for High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite) was an astrometry mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) dedicated to the measurement of stellar parallax and the proper motions of stars. ...

While the cluster is about 75 light years in diameter, the prominent central group is about 10 light years in diameter. Its Hertzsprung-Russel diagram shows it to be 625±50 million years old ^[1]. It was probably formed from the same cloud as Praesepe.^[2] Hertzsprung-Russell diagram In stellar astronomy, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (usually referred to by the abbreviation H-R diagram) shows the mathematical relationship between absolute magnitude, luminosity, stellar classification, and surface temperature. ... The Beehive Cluster (also known as The Beehive, Praesepe, Open Cluster M44, Messier Object 44, Messier 44, M44, or NGC 2632) is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. ...

History

Being a naked-eye cluster, the Hyades were known prehistorically. It was mentioned by Homer in 750 BC. The cluster was probably first cataloged by Giovanni Batista Hodierna in 1654. Lewis Boss, in 1908, first showed that the arrangement of stars was a cluster. Charles Messier used star charts that included and labeled the Hyades, but did not place the cluster in his famous catalog.^[2] Giovanni Batista Hodierna (1597-1660) was an astronomer at the court of the Duke of Montechiaro. ... Lewis Boss (1846–1912) was an American Astronomer. ... Charles Messier Charles Messier (June 26, 1730 – April 12, 1817) was a French astronomer who in 1774 published a catalogue of 45 deep sky objects such as nebulae and star clusters. ...

The Hyades, in Greek mythology, were the five daughters of Atlas and half-sisters to the Pleiades. The word actually comes from Greek Huades, probably from Hys meaning pig.^[3] Pleiades refers to: Pleiades (star cluster) an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. ...

References

1. ^ Perryman, M.A.C., et al. (1998). "The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age". Astronomy & Astrophysics 331: 81-120. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Information on the Hyades from SEDS
3. ^ American Heritage Dictionary

External links

• Information on the Hyades from SEDS
• Astronomy Picture of the Day
• WEBDA open cluster database website for Hyades cluster - E. Paunzen (Univ. Vienna)