The Pleiades: Seven Daughters of Pleione: St. Louis Astronomical Society November 2026 Meeting

Our winter skies contain one of the more famous small asterisms, the Pleiades. They resemble a tiny dipper and are often confused with the Little Dipper. Western mythology describes the Pleiades as the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

In the Navajo story, the Pleiades were known as the Flint Boys and were the first constellation placed in the sky by Black God. The Lakota legend tells of seven young girls being chased by a bear. The frightened girls leap onto a small rock, and the Great Spirit makes the rock grow taller, carrying the seven girls into the stars. The rock remains as the great Mateo Tepe, known today as Devils Tower.

Bruce Bookout is a program manager with Peraton Inc. and a lifetime member of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society (CSASTRO). He is an adjunct professor of astronomy at Pikes Peak State College, where he developed the college’s course in archaeoastronomy. He also teaches planetary and stellar astronomy. He has received the Astronomical League Master Observer Award. Bruce holds an MS in Space Systems Operations from Webster University and previously served in the U.S. Air Force as a space operations officer.

The St. Louis Astronomical Society is an organization for individuals interested in astronomy and telescopes. The public is invited to attend its meetings, telescope observing sessions, and special events. For more information about Astronomical Society events, please visit www.slasonline.org.

Free parking will be available.

Header image: Bruce Bookout with a large Dobsonian telescope at sunset.