Maia, designated 20 Tauri, is a star in the constellation of Taurus. It is a blue giant of spectral type B8 III, a chemically peculiar star, and the prototype of the Maia variable class of variable star.
Maia in the Pleiades cluster Credit: NASA/ESA/AURA/Caltech
NGC 1432 surrounding Maia
Hermes with his mother Maia. Detail of the side B of an Attic red-figure belly-amphora, ca. 500 BC.
The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, Messier 45, and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance of about 444 light-years, it is among the nearest star clusters to Earth. It is the nearest Messier object to Earth, and is the most obvious cluster to the naked eye in the night sky. It is also observed to house the reflection nebula NGC 1432, an HII region.
A color-composite image of the Pleiades from the Digitized Sky Survey
The Nebra sky disc, dated circa 1600 BC. The cluster of seven dots in the upper right portion of the disk is believed to be the Pleiades.
1-dollar commemorative silver coin issued in 2020 by the Royal Australian Mint. On the reverse, the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) are represented, according to an ancient story of Australian Indigenous tradition.
Hubble Space Telescope image of reflection nebulosity near Merope (IC 349)
