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69-472: 詩經·小雅·大東 … 維天有漢， 監亦有光。 跂彼織女， 終日七襄。 雖則七襄， 不成報章。 睆彼牽牛， 不以服箱。 … Classic of Poetry, Lesser Court Hymns, Poem 203 … In Heavens there is the Milky Way, It looks down and is bright; slanting is the Weaving Lady, during one day she is seven times removed. Although she is seven times removed, she does not achieve any interwoven pattern; brilliant is the Draught Ox, But one does not yoke into any carriage. … The Cowherd and

138-499: A telescope . He thereby discovered that the cluster contains many stars too dim to be seen with the naked eye. He published his observations, including a sketch of the Pleiades showing 36 stars, in his treatise Sidereus Nuncius in March 1610. The Pleiades have long been known to be a physically related group of stars rather than any chance alignment. John Michell calculated in 1767 that

207-456: A Chinese folktype indexed as number 34, Schwanenjungfrau ("The Swan Maiden"): a poor human youth is directed to the place where supernatural women bathe by a cow or a deer; the women may be Swan Maidens, a celestial weaver, one of the Pleiades , one of the "9 Celestial Maidens", or a fairy; he steals the garments of one of them and makes her his wife; she finds the garments and flies back to Heaven;

276-433: A cosmic distance ladder may be constructed. Ultimately astronomers' understanding of the age and future evolution of the universe is influenced by their knowledge of the distance to the Pleiades. Yet some authors argue that the controversy over the distance to the Pleiades discussed below is a red herring , since the cosmic distance ladder can (presently) rely on a suite of other nearby clusters where consensus exists regarding

345-538: A distance between 135 and 140 pc; a dynamical distance from optical interferometric observations of the inner pair of stars within Atlas (a bright triple star in the Pleiades) favors a distance of 133 to 137 pc. However, the author of the 2007–2009 catalog of revised Hipparcos parallaxes reasserted that the distance to the Pleiades is ~120 pc and challenged the dissenting evidence. In 2012, Francis and Anderson proposed that

414-545: A distance of only 118 pc, by measuring the parallax of stars in the cluster—a technique that should yield the most direct and accurate results. Later work consistently argued that the Hipparcos distance measurement for the Pleiades was erroneous: In particular, distances derived to the cluster via the Hubble Space Telescope and infrared color–magnitude diagram fitting (so-called " spectroscopic parallax ") favor

483-559: A festival of abundance and lamps. The Pleiades are also mentioned three times in the Bible . The earliest known depiction of the Pleiades is likely a Northern German Bronze Age artifact known as the Nebra sky disk , dated to approximately 1600 BC. The Babylonian star catalogues name the Pleiades MUL ( 𒀯𒀯 ), meaning "stars" (literally "star star"), and they head the list of stars along

552-519: A good marriage. The story was selected as one of China's Four Great Folktales by the "Folklore Movement" in the 1920s—the others being the Legend of the White Snake , Lady Meng Jiang , and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai —but Idema (2012) also notes that this term neglects the variations and therefore diversity of the tales, as only a single version was taken as the true version. The story of The Cowherd and

621-431: A larger catalogue than his scientific rival Lacaille , whose 1755 catalogue contained 42 objects, and so he added some bright, well-known objects to boost the number on his list. Edme-Sébastien Jeaurat then drew in 1782 a map of 64 stars of the Pleiades from his observations in 1779, which he published in 1786. The distance to the Pleiades can be used as a key first step to calibrate the cosmic distance ladder . As

690-510: A prominent sight in winter in the Northern Hemisphere , and are easily visible from mid-southern latitudes. They have been known since antiquity to cultures all around the world, including the Celts ( Welsh : Tŵr Tewdws , Irish : Streoillín ); pre-colonial Filipinos (who called it Mapúlon , Mulo‑pulo or Muró‑púro , among other names), for whom it indicated the beginning of

759-424: A small silk fan to flap away dashing fireflies. 天階夜色涼如水， Above her hang celestial bodies as frigid as deep water, 坐看牽牛織女星。 She sat there watching Altair of Aquila and Vega of Lyra pining for each other in the sky. (Translated by Betty Tseng ) 纖雲弄巧， Clouds float like works of art, 飛星傳恨， Stars shoot with grief at heart. 銀漢迢迢暗渡。 Across

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828-865: A systematic effect on Hipparcos parallax errors for stars in clusters would bias calculation using the weighted mean ; they gave a Hipparcos parallax distance of 126 pc and photometric distance of 132 pc based on stars in the AB Doradus , Tucana-Horologium and Beta Pictoris moving groups, which are all similar in age and composition to the Pleiades. Those authors note that the difference between these results may be attributed to random error. More recent results using very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) (August 2014), and preliminary solutions using Gaia Data Release 1 (September 2016) and Gaia Data Release 2 (August 2018), determine distances of 136.2 ± 1.2 pc, 134 ± 6 pc and 136.2 ± 5.0 pc, respectively. The Gaia Data Release 1 team were cautious about their result, and

897-526: A weaver girl who falls in love with Gyeonwoo, a herder. In Japan, the story revolves around the romance between the deities, Orihime and Hikoboshi . In Vietnam, the story is known as Ngưu Lang Chức Nữ and revolves around the story of Chức Nữ, the weaver, and Ngưu Lang, the herder of buffalos. The Vietnamese version is also titled The Weaver Fairy and the Buffalo Boy . In the first catalogue of Chinese folktales (devised in 1937), Wolfram Eberhard abstracted

966-446: Is Qiao Guo, which has a history of more than one thousand years since it became popular during the Song dynasty. The main ingredients are flour, oil. and honey, sometimes adding sesame, peanuts, kernels, roses, and other different ingredients. After mixing those ingredients, the people then deep-fry them. Beyond that, people would eat crunchy candy, refreshments, and fruits together, expressing

1035-536: Is a result of uncertainties in stellar evolution models, which include factors such as convective overshoot , in which a convective zone within a star penetrates an otherwise non-convective zone, resulting in higher apparent ages. Another way of estimating the age of the cluster is by looking at the lowest-mass objects. In normal main-sequence stars, lithium is rapidly destroyed in nuclear fusion reactions. Brown dwarfs can retain their lithium, however. Due to lithium's very low ignition temperature of 2.5 × 10 K,

1104-428: Is an asterism of an open star cluster containing young B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Taurus . At a distance of about 444 light-years , it is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and the nearest Messier object to Earth, being the most obvious star cluster to the naked eye in the night sky . It is also observed to house the reflection nebula NGC 1432 , an HII region . The cluster

1173-437: Is dominated by hot blue luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years. Reflection nebulae around the brightest stars were once thought to be leftover material from their formation, but are now considered likely to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar medium through which the stars are currently passing. This dust cloud is estimated to be moving at a speed of approximately 18 km/s relative to

1242-458: Is dominated by fainter and redder stars . An estimate of the frequency of binary stars in the Pleiades is approximately 57%. The cluster contains many brown dwarfs , such as Teide 1 . These are objects with less than approximately 8% of the Sun 's mass, insufficient for nuclear fusion reactions to start in their cores and become proper stars. They may constitute up to 25% of the total population of

1311-526: Is no longer at the vernal point, the asterism still remains important, both functionally and symbolically. In addition to the changes in the calendars based on the lunar stations among the Indians and the Arabs, consider the case of an ancient Yemeni calendar in which the months are designated according to an astronomical criterion that caused it to be named Calendar of the Pleiades : the month of ḫams , literally "five",

1380-604: Is that during which the Sun and al-Ṯurayyā , i.e. the Pleiades , deviate from each other by five movements of the Moon , i.e. five times the path that the "Moon" travels on average in one day and one night, to use the terminology of Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi . In Turkic Mythology - The Pleiades Constellation is one of the oldest cosmological figures of the Turks. Seasonal cycles in Anatolia are determined by this star group. The Pleiades are

1449-604: The Geoponica . The Pleiades was the most well-known "star" among pre-Islamic Arabs and so often referred to simply as "the Star" ( an-Najm ; النجم ). Some scholars of Islam suggested that the Pleiades are the "star" mentioned in Surah An-Najm ("The Star") in the Quran . On numerous cylinder seals from the beginning of the first millennium BC, M45 is represented by seven points, while

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1518-514: The Hyades were sisters of the Pleiades. The following table gives details of the brightest stars in the cluster: Ages for star clusters may be estimated by comparing the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram for the cluster with theoretical models of stellar evolution . Using this technique, ages for the Pleiades of between 75 and 150 million years have been estimated. The wide spread in estimated ages

1587-579: The Hyades , the Pleiades form the Golden Gate of the Ecliptic . The name, Pleiades, comes from Ancient Greek : Πλειάδες . It probably derives from plein ("to sail") because of the cluster's importance in delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea : "the season of navigation began with their heliacal rising ". In Classical Greek mythology the name was used for seven divine sisters called

1656-458: The Magpie Festival . The popular tale is a love story between Zhinü ( 織女 , the weaver girl, symbolizing Vega ) and Niulang ( 牛郎 , the cowherd, symbolizing Altair ). Niulang was often abused by his sister-in-law. They eventually kicked him out of the house, and gave him nothing but an old cow. One day, the old cow suddenly spoke out, telling Niulang that there would be fairies bathing in

1725-477: The Mauna Kea Observatory on the island of Hawaii . It had the largest monolithic primary mirror in the world from its commissioning in 1998 until 2005. It also was chosen as the brand name of Subaru automobiles to reflect the origins of the firm as the joining of five companies, and is depicted in the firm's six-star logo. Galileo Galilei was the first astronomer to view the Pleiades through

1794-465: The Pleiades . In time, the name was said to be derived from that of a mythical mother, Pleione , effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione". In reality, the ancient name of the star cluster related to sailing almost certainly came first in the culture, naming of a relationship to the sister deities followed, and eventually appearing in later myths, to interpret the group name, a mother, Pleione. The M45 group played an important role in ancient times for

1863-596: The Seven Gods appear, on low-reliefs of Neo-Assyrian royal palaces, wearing long open robes and large cylindrical headdresses surmounted by short feathers and adorned with three frontal rows of horns and a crown of feathers, while carrying both an ax and a knife, as well as a bow and a quiver. 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. Some scientists suggest that these may come from observations back when Pleione

1932-602: The Song dynasty : 鵲橋仙 纖雲弄巧， 飛星傳恨， 銀漢迢迢暗渡。 金風玉露一相逢， 便勝卻人間無數。 柔情似水， 佳期如夢， 忍顧鵲橋歸路。 兩情若是久長時， 又豈在朝朝暮暮。 Meeting across the Milky way Through the varying shapes of the delicate clouds, the sad message of the shooting stars, a silent journey across the Milky Way. One meeting of the Cowherd and Weaver amidst the golden autumn wind and jade-glistening dew, eclipses

2001-547: The vernal point . (2330 BC with ecliptic latitude about +3.5° according to Stellarium ) The importance of this asterism is also evident in northern Europe. The Pleiades cluster is displayed on the Nebra sky disc that was found in Germany and is dated to around 1600 BC. On the disk the cluster is represented in a high position between the Sun and the Moon. This asterism also marks the beginning of several ancient calendars: Although M45

2070-606: The 2009 Qixi Festival to mark the occasion. The latest was launched for the 2023 Qixi Festival. The Qixi festival inspired the Tanabata festival in Japan , Chilseok festival in Korea , and Thất Tịch festival in Vietnam . Offline Online Pleiades The Pleiades ( / ˈ p l iː . ə d iː z , ˈ p l eɪ -, ˈ p l aɪ -/ ), also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45 ,

2139-703: The Chinese tale of the cowherd and weaver girl. The Chang'e 4 landing site is known as Statio Tianhe , which refers to the heavenly river in the tale. The nearby far-side lunar craters Zhinyu and Hegu are named after Chinese constellations associated with the weaver girl and the cowherd. In Japan, the Engineering Test Satellite VII mission was an automated rendezvous and docking test of two satellites nicknamed "Orihime" and "Hikoboshi." Qixi Festival The Qixi Festival ( Chinese : 七夕 ; pinyin : Qīxī ; lit. 'Seventh Night [of

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2208-657: The Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid. 金風玉露一相逢， When Autumn’s Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade, 便勝却人間無數。 All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade. 柔情似水， Their tender love flows like a stream; 佳期如夢， Their happy date seems but a dream. 忍顧鶴橋歸路。 How can they bear a separate homeward way? 兩情若是久長時， If love between both sides can last for aye, 又豈在朝朝暮暮。 Why need they stay together night and day? (Translated by Xu Yuanchong ) Interactive Google doodles have been launched since

2277-403: The Milky Way, 相去復幾許？ They are not far apart! 盈盈一水間， But the stream brims always between 脈脈不得語。 And, gazing at each other, they cannot speak. (Translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang ) 銀燭秋光冷畫屏， A candle flame flickers against a dull painted screen on a cool autumn night, 輕羅小扇撲流螢。 She holds

2346-562: The Milky Way, while Deneb , a third star, forms a symbolic bridge between the two stars. It was said that if it rains on this day, it was caused by a river sweeping away the magpie bridge or that the rain is the tears of the separated couple. Based on the legend of a flock of magpies forming a bridge to reunite the couple, a pair of magpies came to symbolize conjugal happiness and faithfulness. The eating customs of Qixi Festival vary from place to place, and are called eating Qiao food. The most famous traditional food people eat on Qixi Festival

2415-533: The VLBI authors assert "that the Hipparcos -measured distance to the Pleiades cluster is in error". The most recent distance estimate of the distance to the Pleiades based on the Gaia Data Release 3 is 135.74 ± 0.10 pc . The cluster core radius is approximately 8 light-years and tidal radius is approximately 43 light-years. The cluster contains more than 1,000 statistically confirmed members, not counting

2484-542: The Weaver Girl and its two main characters are popular in various parts of Asia and elsewhere, with different places adopting different variations. Some historical and cross cultural similarities to other stories have also been observed. The story is referenced in various literary and popular cultural sources. The tale has been alluded to in many literary works. One of the most famous was the poem by Qin Guan (秦观; 1049–1100) during

2553-709: The Weaver Girl originated from people’s worship of natural celestial phenomena, and later developed into the Qiqiao or Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty . It has also been celebrated as the Tanabata festival in Japan and the Chilseok festival in Korea. In ancient times, women would make wishes to the stars of Vega and Altair in the sky during the festival, hoping to have a wise mind, a dexterous hand (in embroidery and other household tasks), and

2622-526: The cluster is relatively close to the Earth, the distance should be relatively easy to measure and has been estimated by many methods. Accurate knowledge of the distance allows astronomers to plot a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram for the cluster, which, when compared with those plotted for clusters whose distance is not known, allows their distances to be estimated. Other methods may then extend the distance scale from open clusters to galaxies and clusters of galaxies, and

2691-431: The cluster is simply passing through a particularly dusty region of the interstellar medium . Studies show that the dust responsible for the nebulosity is not uniformly distributed, but is concentrated mainly in two layers along the line of sight to the cluster. These layers may have been formed by deceleration due to radiation pressure as the dust has moved toward the stars. Analyzing deep-infrared images obtained by

2760-458: The cluster may be seen even with small telescopes or average binoculars. It is a reflection nebula , caused by dust reflecting the blue light of the hot, young stars. It was formerly thought that the dust was left over from the formation of the cluster, but at the age of approximately 100 million years generally accepted for the cluster, almost all the dust originally present would have been dispersed by radiation pressure . Instead, it seems that

2829-405: The cluster will take approximately 250 million years to disperse, because of gravitational interactions with giant molecular clouds and the spiral arms of our galaxy hastening its demise. With larger amateur telescopes, the nebulosity around some of the stars may be easily seen, especially when long-exposure photographs are taken. Under ideal observing conditions, some hint of nebulosity around

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2898-633: The cluster, although they contribute less than 2% of the total mass. Astronomers have made great efforts to find and analyze brown dwarfs in the Pleiades and other young clusters, because they are still relatively bright and observable, while brown dwarfs in older clusters have faded and are much more difficult to study. The brightest stars of the cluster are named the Seven Sisters in early Greek mythology : Sterope , Merope , Electra , Maia , Taygeta , Celaeno , and Alcyone . Later, they were assigned parents, Pleione and Atlas . As daughters of Atlas,

2967-557: The countless meetings in the mundane world. The feelings soft as water, the ecstatic moment unreal as a dream, how can one have the heart to go back on the bridge made of magpies? If the two hearts are united forever, why do the two persons need to stay together—day after day, night after night? Du Fu (杜甫) (712–770) of the Tang dynasty wrote a poem about the heavenly river: 天河 常時任顯晦， 秋至輒分明。 縱被微雲掩， 終能永夜清。 含星動雙闕， 伴月落邊城。 牛女年年渡， 何曾風浪生。 The Heavenly River Most of

3036-465: The cowherd and weaver girl spread across Asia, with different variations appearing in various languages and regions over the course of time. In Southeast Asia, the story has been conflated into a Jataka tale detailing the story of Manohara , the youngest of seven daughters of the Kinnara King, who lives on Mount Kailash and falls in love with Prince Sudhana. In Korea, the story focuses on Jicknyeo,

3105-740: The cowherd, respectively. The tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han dynasty . The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to more than 2,600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry . The festival has variously been called the Double Seventh Festival , the Chinese Valentine's Day , the Night of Sevens , or

3174-513: The distances as established by the Hipparcos satellite and independent means (e.g., the Hyades , the Coma Berenices cluster , etc.). Measurements of the distance have elicited much controversy. Results prior to the launch of the Hipparcos satellite generally found that the Pleiades were approximately 135 parsecs (pc) away from Earth. Data from Hipparcos yielded a surprising result, namely

3243-514: The ecliptic, reflecting the fact that they were close to the point of the vernal equinox around the twenty-third century BC. The Ancient Egyptians may have used the names "Followers" and "Ennead" in the prognosis texts of the Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky Days of papyrus Cairo 86637. Some Greek astronomers considered them to be a distinct constellation , and they are mentioned by Hesiod 's Works and Days , Homer 's Iliad and Odyssey , and

3312-403: The establishment of many calendars thanks to the combination of two remarkable elements. The first, which is still valid, is its unique and easily identifiable appearance on the celestial vault near the ecliptic . The second, essential for the ancients, is that in the middle of the third millennium BC, this asterism (a prominent pattern or group of stars that is smaller than a constellation) marked

3381-427: The festival activities also included customs that the common people partook in. Girls take part in worshipping the celestials ( 拜仙 ) during rituals. They go to the local temple to pray to Zhinü for wisdom. Paper items are usually burned as offerings. Girls may recite traditional prayers for dexterity in needlework, which symbolizes the traditional talents of a good spouse. Divination could take place to determine

3450-402: The festival is often described as the traditional Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day . During the Qixi Festival, couples usually take part in traditional activities, like making gifts, gazing at the stars, and praying for a long and happy love. The festival is derived from Chinese mythology: people celebrate the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were the weaver girl and

3519-539: The festival. 迢迢牽牛星， Far, far away, the Cowherd, 皎皎河漢女。 Fair, fair, the Weaving Maid; 纖纖擢素手， Nimbly move her slender white fingers, 札札弄機杼。 Click-clack goes her spinning-loom. 終日不成章， All day she weaves, yet her web is still not done 泣涕零如雨。 And her tears fall like rain. 河漢清且淺， Clear and shallow

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3588-613: The highest-mass brown dwarfs will burn it eventually, and so determining the highest mass of brown dwarfs still containing lithium in the cluster may give an idea of its age. Applying this technique to the Pleiades gives an age of about 115 million years. The cluster is slowly moving in the direction of the feet of what is currently the constellation of Orion . Like most open clusters, the Pleiades will not stay gravitationally bound forever. Some component stars will be ejected after close encounters with other stars; others will be stripped by tidal gravitational fields. Calculations suggest that

3657-572: The magpie, and so they built a bridge of magpies over the Silver River for them to meet. The Emperor of Heaven was also moved by the sight, and allowed this couple to meet on the Magpie Bridge once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. That was the origin of the Qixi Festival. During the Han dynasty, the practices were conducted in accordance with formal ceremonial state rituals. Over time,

3726-436: The number that would be added if all binary stars could be resolved. Its light is dominated by young, hot blue stars , up to 14 of which may be seen with the naked eye, depending on local observing conditions and visual acuity of the observer. The brightest stars form a shape somewhat similar to that of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor . The total mass contained in the cluster is estimated to be approximately 800 solar masses and

3795-541: The people's pursuit of ingenuity, family health, and happy life wishes. Many pieces of literature, such as poems, songs, and operas, have been written for this festival and about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, dating back to the Zhou dynasty Classic of Poetry . Many describe the atmosphere of the festival or narrate related stories. This has left a valuable literary legacy which helps modern scholars better understand ancient Chinese customs, feelings, and opinions relating to

3864-535: The position of the cluster and included it as "M45" in his catalogue of comet -like objects, published in 1771. Along with the Orion Nebula and the Praesepe cluster, Messier's inclusion of the Pleiades has been noted as curious, as most of Messier's objects were much fainter and more easily confused with comets—something that seems scarcely possible for the Pleiades. One possibility is that Messier simply wanted to have

3933-417: The possible dexterity in needlework. They make wishes for marrying someone who would be a good and loving husband. During the festival, girls make a display of their domestic skills. Traditionally, there would be contests amongst those who attempted to be the best in threading needles under low-light conditions, like the glow of an ember or of a half moon. Today, girls sometimes gather toiletries in honour of

4002-421: The probability of a chance alignment of so many bright stars was only 1 in 500,000, and so surmised that the Pleiades and many other clusters must consist of physically related stars. When studies were first made of the proper motions of the stars, it was found that they are all moving in the same direction across the sky, at the same rate, further demonstrating that they were related. Charles Messier measured

4071-401: The seven maidens. The festival also held an importance for newlywed couples. Traditionally, they would worship the celestial couple for the last time and bid farewell to them ( 辭仙 ). The celebration stood as a symbol for a happy marriage and showed that the married woman was treasured by her new family. On this day, the Chinese gaze up at the sky to look for Vega and Altair shining in

4140-522: The seventh month]'), also known as the Qiqiao Festival ( Chinese : 乞巧 ; pinyin : Qǐqiǎo ; lit. 'Beseeching craftsmanship'), is a Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of Zhinü and Niulang in Chinese mythology . The festival is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunisolar month on the Chinese lunisolar calendar . A celebration of romantic love,

4209-568: The spring nearby that night. The fairy would stay there if she failed to go back to heaven before morning. In accordance with what the old cow said, Niulang saw those beautiful fairies in the spring, and fell in love with one of the beautiful fairies who was the heavenly weaver. In order to make her stay, he took her clothes that helped her to go back to heaven; this made her an ordinary earth woman without any power. They then got married and had two children. The Emperor of Heaven ( 玉皇大帝 , lit.   ' The Jade Emperor ' ) found out about this and

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4278-413: The stars in the cluster. Computer simulations have shown that the Pleiades were probably formed from a compact configuration that once resembled the Orion Nebula . Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for approximately another 250 million years, after which the clustering will be lost due to gravitational interactions with the galactic neighborhood. Together with the open star cluster of

4347-766: The storehouse); the Japanese (who call them Subaru ; 昴 , スバル ); the Maya ; the Aztec ; the Sioux ; the Kiowa ; and the Cherokee . In Hinduism , the Pleiades are known as Kṛttikā and are scripturally associated with the war deity Kartikeya and are also identified or associated with the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mothers). Hindus celebrate the first day (new moon) of the month of Kartik as Diwali ,

4416-400: The time it may be hidden or fully visible, but when autumn comes, it gets immediately bright. Even if covered over by faint clouds, in the long run it can be clear through the long night. Full of stars, it stirs by paired palace gates, moon’s companion, it sinks by a frontier fort. Oxherd and Weaver cross it every year, and when have storms ever arisen thereon? The story of

4485-643: The versions of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl under the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index ATU 400, "The Quest for the Lost Wife". The tale also holds similarities with widespread tales of the swan maiden (bird maiden or bird princess). Similar to the Chang'e space program being named after the Chinese goddess of the moon , the Queqiao and Queqiao-2 relay satellite is named after the "bridge of magpies" from

4554-617: The year; Hawaiians (who call them Makaliʻi ), Māori (who call them Matariki ); Indigenous Australians (from several traditions ); the Achaemenid Empire , whence in Persians (who called them Parvīn – پروین – or Parvī – پروی ); the Arabs (who call them al-Thurayyā ; الثريا ); the Chinese (who called them mǎo ; 昴 ); the Quechua (who call them Qullqa or

4623-573: The youth goes after her, and meets her in the Heavenly realm; the Heavenly king decrees that the couple shall meet only once a year. Based on some of the variants available then, Eberhard dated the story to the 5th century, although the tale seems much older, with references to it in the Huainanzi (2nd century BC). Eberhard also supposed that the fairy tale preceded the astral myth. Chinese folklorist and scholar Ting Nai-tung  [ zh ] classified

4692-557: Was farther from Atlas and more visible as a separate star as far back as 100,000 BC. In Japan , the cluster is mentioned under the name Mutsuraboshi ("six stars") in the eighth-century Kojiki . The cluster is now known in Japan as Subaru. The name was chosen for that of the Subaru Telescope , the 8.2-meter (320 in) flagship telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , located at

4761-516: Was furious, so he sent minions to escort the heavenly weaver back to heaven. Niulang was heartbroken. The old cow suddenly spoke out again, telling Niulang he could take his skin to make it into a flying coat to chase after them; and Niulang did. However, the Queen Mother of the West drew a Silver River ( The Milky Way ) in the sky and blocked his way. Meanwhile, the love between Niulang and the weaver moved

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