The full-looking waning gibbous moon and the Pleiades star cluster rise in the east around nightfall tonight. After rising, the moon and the Pleiades keep each other company all through the night. They climb close to overhead around 1:00 a.m. (on Wednesday, November 4) and appear rather low in the west as dawn begins to color the sky (Wednesday, November 4).

There are a couple of reasons why you might not see the Pleiades – or the Seven Sisters – tonight. That’s in spite of the fact that tonight’s moon and the Pleiades reside at almost the same spot on the sky’s dome.

First of all, the blinding moonlight will wipe out most if not all the Pleiades’s stars from view. (On a dark, moonless night, most people can see six Pleiades’s stars.) You can use the moon to help you locate the Pleiades cluster, but even with binoculars, you may have a hard time making out this dipper-shape pattern of stars.

There’s another reason why you might not spot the Pleiades cluster. Depending on where you live in North or South America, the moon will occult – pass in front of – certain stars of the Pleiades star cluster tonight.

Related:

The Pleaides cluster enjoys worldwide renown

2009 World Wide Occultations of the Pleiades Cluster

Written by Bruce McClure

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