Alcyone

[wasions]

I was reading a book this evening (The Witness of the Stars by E. W. Bullinger - 1893) and ran across some interesting data.

Alcyone (Arabic - 'The Center') is the brightest star in the small cluster called 'The Pleiades' ('the congregation of the judge, or ruler'), sometimes known as 'The Seven Sisters' (the daughters of Atlas and Pleione). Pleiades sits high in the neck of Taurus (the Bull). There are actually nine stars in the cluster: (anti-clockwise from the top) Aslerope (very faint - difficult to see with the naked eye even in the best conditions), Maia, Alcyone (the brightest star, in the center), Pleione, Atlas, Electro, Merope, Celino, and Taigaeta.

Now I better understand the Subaru/Fugi Heavy Industries symbol (though it only has six stars - and the configuration of the stars is dissimilar to that found in nature), and the Alcyone symbol (Taurus), but does anyone know what the inspiration was?

I also found that Pleiades is mentioned at least twice in the Bible: Job 9:9 (along with 'the Bear' and Orion), and Amos 5:8. The Syrian name for the Pleiades is Succoth, which means 'booths'

[Mr. Pockets]

Apparently the Pleiades constellation, in Japanese culture, is comprised of six stars, not seven. The constellation goes by the name 'matsura-boshi,' from which the name 'Subaru' was derived.

The constellation was chosen for the parallels between it and FHI. In 1953, five companies merged for form FHI. The large star in the logo, then, represents FHI (the new company) and the five smaller stars represent the original companies.

The names of the stars in the Pleiades constellation, incidentally, are where we got the name for our ADHD, mentally retarded, physics-defying cat.

I think we'll name the next one Alcyone.