 放大圖片
冬去春來，入黑後抬頭望向天頂附近，就可看見一團模糊的星體，仔細觀察，不難發覺這團模糊星體其實由六或七顆非常接近的亮星組成，一般我們都稱這團星為「七姊妹星團」或「昴星團」。「七姊妹」位於金牛座，是最接近地球的疏散星團之一（另一個是同位於金牛的畢星團），哈勃太空望遠鏡利用視差測定其距離為440光年。「昴星團」擁有約二百顆較亮的成員，約於一億年前形成，是相當年輕的星團。「七姊妹」來自希臘神話傳說，偉大的獵人奧瑞恩（即獵戶座）在一次偶然機會下窺見七姊妹的美貌而對她們展開追逐，天神宙斯於是把眾姐妹化成飛鴿，置於星空中。由於「昴星團」的獨特形象，地球上多個民族的傳說或文獻都有這個星團的記載，日本某大集團更以此星團命名其汽車生產附屬機構。
Pleiades, the seven sisters
In Greek mythology the Pleiades were seven sisters. The great mortal hunter, Orion, once spied on their beauty and grace and started a relentless pursue for them. Zeus transformed the sisters into a flock of doves and they flew into the heavens. In reality, the Pleiades appears as a starry patch near the zenith when the sky gets dark in the winter and spring evenings. Even the naked eye could discern six to seven closely packed bright stars. The Pleiades is a young cluster formed within the last 100 million years. Situated in the constellation of Taurus, the cluster is also commonly known as M45 (the 45th object in Messier's Catalogue). At a distance of 440 light years, it is one of the nearest open clusters and thus appears relatively large and bright. ■甄枝強 資深天文愛好者
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