Atlas is the second brightest star of the Pleiades, named for the Titan who in Greek myth was father of the Seven Sisters and held up the sky.
At a glance
| type | blue-white star (class B) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 445 light-years (137 pc) |
| its light left it | 445 years ago |
| luminosity | 940 × the Sun |
| radius | 5 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 12,000 K |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Atlas
Atlas sits at the eastern edge of the Pleiades, next to the fainter Pleione, the father beside the mother. It is a blue-white B-type star, a giant, and it is itself a close binary.
In myth Atlas was the Titan condemned to carry the heavens, and the Pleiades were his daughters with Pleione. Naming the two parents among the daughters is a later convention of star catalogues, which is why Atlas and Pleione share the cluster with the sisters.
Like the other bright members, Atlas formed with the rest of the cluster from the same cloud, so its age and distance are effectively those of the Pleiades as a whole.
What you see in the piece
In the Pleiades Atlas stands at one end of the dipper-shaped group, with Pleione close beside it; both are blue-white because they are hot.
Questions
Who was Atlas in the Pleiades?
In Greek myth Atlas was the Titan who held up the sky and the father of the Pleiades; the star named for him sits beside Pleione, their mother.
How bright is Atlas?
Atlas shines about 940 × the Sun, from 445 light-years (137 pc) away.