342. _The Hyades._--The _Hyades_ are a very open cluster in the face of _Taurus_ (334). The three brightest stars of this cluster form a letter _V_, the point of the _V_ being on the nose, and the open ends at the eyes. This cluster is shown in Fig. 399. The name, according to the most probable etymology, means _rainy_; and they are said to have been so called because their rising was associated with wet weather. They were usually considered the daughters of Atlas, and sisters of the Pleiades, though sometimes referred to as the nurses of Bacchus. [Illustration: Fig. 399.] 343. _The Pleiades._--The _Pleiades_ constitute a celebrated group of stars, or a miniature constellation, on the shoulder of _Taurus_. Hesiod mentions them as "the seven virgins of Atlas born," and Milton calls them "the seven Atlantic sisters." They are referred to in the Book of Job. The Spaniards term them "the little nanny-goats;" and they are sometimes called "the hen and chickens." [Illustration: Fig. 400.] [Illustration: Fig. 401.] Usually only six stars in this cluster can be seen with the naked eye, and this fact has given rise to the legend of the "lost Pleiad." On a clear, moonless night, however, a good eye can discern seven or eight stars, and some observers have distinguished as many as eleven. Fig. 400 shows the _Pleiades_ as they appear to the naked eye under the most favorable circumstances. Fig. 401 shows this cluster as it appears in a powerful telescope. With such an instrument more than five hundred stars are visible. 344. _Cluster in the Sword-handle of Perseus._--This is a somewhat dense double cluster. It is visible to the naked eye, appearing as a hazy star. A line drawn from _Algenib_, or _Alpha_ of _Perseus_ (338), to _Delta_ of _Cassiopeia_ (330), will pass through this cluster at about two-thirds the distance from the former. This double cluster is one of the most brilliant objects in the heavens, with a telescope of moderate power. [Illustration: Fig. 402.] 345. _Cluster of Hercules._--The celebrated globular cluster of _Hercules_ can be seen only with a telescope of considerable power, and to resolve it into distinct stars (as shown in Fig. 402) requires an instrument of the very highest class. [Illustration: Fig. 403.] 346. _Other Clusters._--Fig. 403 shows a magnificent globular cluster in the constellation _Aquarius_. Herschel describes it as appearing like a heap of sand, being composed of thousands of stars of the fifteenth magnitude. [Illustration: Fig. 404.] Fig. 404 shows a cluster in the constellation _Toucan_, which Sir John Herschel describes as a most glorious globular cluster, the stars of the fourteenth magnitude being immensely numerous. There is a marked condensation of light at the centre. [Illustration: Fig. 405.] [Illustration: Fig. 406.]