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From: Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Meet the new neighbors: The solar system expands.
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2024 22:11:35 -0400
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On 9/12/2024 5:59 PM, William Hyde wrote:
> Cryptoengineer wrote:
>> On 9/11/2024 3:53 PM, D wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, 11 Sep 2024, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
>>>
>>>> https://scitechdaily.com/astronomers-stunned-by-unexpected- 
>>>> discovery- of-new-celestial-bodies-in-the-outer-solar-system/
>>>>
>>>>     Astronomers Stunned by Unexpected Discovery of New Celestial
>>>>     Bodies in the Outer Solar System
>>>>
>>>>     Using the Subaru Telescope, astronomers have identified
>>>>     previously unknown celestial bodies in the outer Solar
>>>>     System, suggesting a larger, unexplored expanse that parallels
>>>>     other planetary systems.
>>>>
>>>>     These findings, including a possible second ring of Kuiper
>>>>     Belt Objects, could reshape our understanding of planetary
>>>>     formation and potentially boost the chances of discovering
>>>>     extraterrestrial life by revealing a more extensive and
>>>>     typical structure of our Solar System compared to others.
>>>>     Discovery of New Objects in the Outer Solar System
>>>>
>>>>     Observations of the outer Solar System with the Subaru
>>>>     Telescope have discovered new bodies where none were expected.
>>>>     The new objects are likely members of a much larger population
>>>>     waiting to be discovered. This discovery has profound
>>>>     implications for our understanding of the structure and
>>>>     history of the Solar System.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Ahh... so Subaru expanded from cars to telescopes! And planet X might 
>>> exist after all. ;)
>>
>> The car company has nothing to do with the telescope.
>>
>> The telescope is at Mauna Kea, but is owned by the National Observatory
>> of Japan.
>>
>> The Japanese word for the Pleiades star cluster is 'Subaru'. Try looking
>> at a Subaru car badge sometime, and you'll see the star cluster.
>>
>> Despite being known as the 'seven sisters', the logo has only six stars.
>> This matches what is actually naked eye visible now. When the cluster
>> acquired that name, seven were visible, but proper motion has since
>> moved two of them too close to resolve.
> 
> When I first read about this cluster sixty years ago my reference said 
> that people with "exceptionally good eyesight" could still distinguish 
> seven stars.
> 
> Was this true sixty years ago, or could my source possibly have 
> uncritically quoted some older work written when this was true?
> Or was it just nonsense?
> 
> There was no point in testing it myself - I was pleased that I could see 
> six stars.
> 
> At the moment, I can't think of much SF that involves this cluster.

Calling them the 'seven sisters' goes back to classical Greece,
possibly much further.

 From Wikipedia:

"As noted by scholar Stith Thompson, the constellation was "nearly
always imagined" as a group of seven sisters, and their myths explain
why there are only six.[47] Some scientists suggest that these may come
from observations back when Pleione was farther from Atlas and more
visible as a separate star as far back as 100,000 BC."

On the Nebra Sky Disk (1600 BC), there are 7 dots thought to be
the Pleiades.

I don't know what your source was quoting, but I imagine that
distinguishing seven got harder and harder over time. Also,
I'm sure many people talk themselves into thinking they see
seven, since that's what they're supposed to be.

pt