Pleione

The star Pleione in the Pleiades

Variable star Pleione, 28 = BU Tauri, type Gamma Cassiopeiae,

in the Pleiades (M45)

in Taurus

Artist Chesley Bonestell’s view of the Pleiades’ “mother” Pleione, as seen

from a hypothetical planet.

Artwork is copyright

© Chesley Bonestell Estate/courtesy Bonestell Space Art;

also note

Chesley Bonestell’s Interactive Art Gallery on the web and in

particular their

Pleione page).

As this star rotates rapidly, its shape is that of an oblate spheroid instead

of a sphere. According to its B8 spectral type, Pleione is of white color.

It is significantly more luminous than the sun: about 45 times.

From: Chesley Bonestell: Space Painter – The Master at 90

in Future Life #1 (April 1978).

Remarks on painting located on the back, “Pleione, a naked eye star of

the Pleiades cluster, seen from a hypothetical planet 93 million

miles away – the same distance as our earth from the sun. This

type-B star is rotating about 100 times faster (so rapidly it

becomes flattened) than our sun and its radiation is so intense that

a planet orbiting it at 93 million miles would be red hot. Thus, if

our sun were Pleione our earth would be red hot.”

Caption from Bauder Catalog Magazine #57: “Pleione star viewed from a

hypothetical planet at 93 million miles”

Since 1888, Pleione has ejected three gaseous shells. On each such occasion,

the star’s visual brightness has first risen, then fallen below the normal

level. The last outburst occurred from 1972 to 1987.

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Hartmut Frommert

([email protected])

Christine Kronberg

([email protected])

Last Modification: 2 Feb 1998, 14:25 MET