Hyades (star cluster)
Nearest open cluster, key rung on the cosmic distance ladder.
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Its brightest stars form a "V" shape that appears alongside the unrelated, much closer star Aldebaran.[1] The Hyades star cluster is the closest open cluster to the Sun, at a distance of roughly 153 light-years.[2]
Key facts and history
The Hyades has been known since prehistoric times and is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad.[3] The Hyades shares its age, metallicity, and proper motion with the Praesepe Cluster, indicating a common origin.[4] The five brightest member stars have evolved into giant stars after consuming their core hydrogen fuel.[5] The cluster's core radius is 2.7 parsecs, and its tidal radius is 10 parsecs.[6][7]
According to Greek myth, the five daughters of Atlas, known as the Hyades, were turned into stars following the death of their brother Hyas.[8] Giovanni Battista Hodierna likely made the first catalog entry for this cluster in 1654.[9] The distance to the Hyades has been precisely determined through parallax measurements made by the Hipparcos satellite and the Hubble Space Telescope.[10]
What the research sources say
The SEDS account states the Hyades is the nearest open cluster at about 150 light-years distance.[11] The same source notes that the cluster's Hertzsprung-Russell diagram corresponds to an age of 790 million years.[11] Jim Kaler's Stars describes Gamma Tauri as one of four ageing giants in the middle-aged cluster, with a directly-measured distance of 154 light-years.[12] Ian Ridpath's Star Tales explains that the name Hyades comes from the Greek word "hyein," meaning "to rain"[13]
References
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: He 何, "Unveiling Hidden Stellar Aggregates in the Milky Way: 1656 New Star Clusters Found in Gaia EDR3", The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 2023-01-01, p. 8 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Perryman, M.A.C., "The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 1998, p. 81–120; Van Leeuwen, "Parallaxes and proper motions for 20 open clusters as based on the new Hipparcos catalogue", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2009, p. 209; Majaess, "Deep Infrared ZAMS Fits to Benchmark Open Clusters Hosting Delta Scuti Stars", Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (Jaavso), 2011, p. 219; McArthur, "Astrometry with the Hubble Space Telescope: Trigonometric Parallaxes of Selected Hyad en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Information on the Hyades from SEDS; Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Richmond Lattimore. University of Chicago Press, 1951. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dobbie, "New Praesepe white dwarfs and the initial mass-final mass relation", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2006, p. 383–389; "Messier Object 44", SEDS, 2007-08-25 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jim Kaler, "Hyadum I", Jim Kaler's Stars; Jim Kaler, "Hyadum I", Jim Kaler's Stars (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Perryman, M.A.C., "The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 1998, p. 81–120; Perryman, M.A.C., "The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 1998, p. 81–120; Perryman, M.A.C., "The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 1998, p. 81–120 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Perryman, M.A.C., "The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 1998, p. 81–120; Weideman V, Jordan S, Iben I, Casertano S. (1992) White dwarfs in the halo of the Hyades Cluster – The case of the missing white dwarfs. Astronomical Journal, 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ian Ridpath, "The Hyades – the face of the bull", Ian Ridpath’s Star Tales (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Information on the Hyades from SEDS; Information on the Hyades from SEDS (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hyades (star cluster)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Perryman, M.A.C., "The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 1998, p. 81–120; Van Leeuwen, "Parallaxes and proper motions for 20 open clusters as based on the new Hipparcos catalogue", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2009, p. 209; Majaess, "Deep Infrared ZAMS Fits to Benchmark Open Clusters Hosting Delta Scuti Stars", Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (Jaavso), 2011, p. 219; McArthur, "Astrometry with the Hubble Space Telescope: Trigonometric Parallaxes of Selected Hyad en.wikipedia.org
- Information on the Hyades from SEDS. facts only, no text reused. messier.seds.org
- Jim Kaler, "Hyadum I", Jim Kaler's Stars. facts only, no text reused. stars.astro.illinois.edu
- Ian Ridpath, "The Hyades – the face of the bull", Ian Ridpath’s Star Tales. facts only, no text reused. ianridpath.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hyades (star cluster) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Hyades (star cluster) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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