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THE FIXED STARS

Near by is the best known cluster in the sky, the Pleiades, or "seven stars." Only six stars are made out by ordinary unaided vision, but to a good eye five others

Fig. 56.—Telescopic View of the Pleiades, with Names of the Brighter Stars.

are visible, making eleven in all. The term "seven stars" is therefore a misnomer; as a reason for it, it was said in ancient times that the number was originally seven but that one faded away. This "lost Pleiad" is probably a myth, as we do not find stars fading away permanently.

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