Seven

Venus and Pleiades put on a a little show in the western skies around 10 pm on April 13, 2023.This photo was taken near the date of conjunction when the planet is still very close to the asterism. The "seven sisters" of Greek mythology appear within arms reach from the rooftops and windows where earthlings go about their nightly lives, largely oblivious of the scene above. 

Astronomers estimate that the stars in Pleiades formed a 100 million years ago as a more compact cluster like the Orion Nebula. Computer simulations suggest that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which the components stars will disperse due to gravity pulls from the Milky Way. 

Unlike present day, historically humans all around the world seem to have taken special note of this beautiful arrangement of glowing blue jewels in the sky. In fact in every continent, the Pleiades has had observers who have imagined stories around them and chronicled interesting folklore often involving the number seven.  

To Native American tribes, the Cherokee - they are seven boys who escaped into the sky to avoid doing chores. In Greek mythology, they are the seven sisters, daughters of Atlas the Titan who had to hold up the sky. In the Slavic regions, in Belarus and Ukraine they are related to the seven maidens who dance in circles. Farther east in Asia, in Hindu astronomy they're known as Krittika - the seven wives of the moon. In Australian aboriginal cultures they are back to being the seven sisters. 

It will remain a mystery how the common thread around the number seven travelled the globe across cultures when with the the naked eye the number of stars visible is often six. In Japan, it is known as Subaru and inspired the car brand and logo with six stars. It is also the name of the Japanese telescope in Mauna Kea mountains in Hawaii that was used to detect the earthbound asteroid in the 2021 apocalyptic satire film - "Don't Look Up" . 

Here's hoping more of us will ignore that advice.

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Shot on stock Canon 70D on a tripod using a 75-300 telephoto at 75mm with Astronomik CLS filter.

15x4s light frames. f4.0, ISO 1600. 

Stacked in Sequator, Post processed in GIMP.

Reference

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The world’s oldest story? Astronomers say global myths about ‘seven sisters’ stars may reach back 100,000 years

Pleiades in folklore and literature