view counter  Long Ago Separated at Birth  This week’s moon
visits two star clusters a billion years apart      The Hyades
is the brighter of the two clusters. On a dark night you may
discern a dozen or more stars with your own eyes. With
binoculars or a small telescope, the number might double or even
triple.     The Pleiades is the most famous star cluster, named
after seven daughters of the Titan Atlas. However, even with
very dark skies you’re likely to only find six of them. Myths
regarding the missing seventh sister span the globe. Modern
astronomers have added to the lore, having discovered that the
seventh-brightest star in the cluster, Pleione, is actually a
variable whose cycle from bright to dim stretches over
millennia.     While appearing close and within the same
constellation, the Hyades and the Pleiades are unrelated.
However, scientists believe the Hyades is related to another
grouping of stars, the Beehive cluster, which the waning
crescent moon visits before dawn Wednesday. While the two cl