Pleione is a binary system, in which the primarybluestar rotates exceptionally fast, and is surrounded by two separate rings of material cast off by the rapidly-spinning star. It also has a faint companion star, following an eccentricorbit around Pleione A at an estimated distance of some 24 AU.
Pleione is an outlying star on the eastern edges of the Pleiadescluster, with the main body of the cluster falling to its west (or right, in this image). The nearby brighterstar to Pleione's immediate south is Atlas (or 27 Tauri), named for Pleione's husband in Greek mythology. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas
In mythology, Pleione was the mother of the Pleiades; she and her husband Atlas have stars named for them in their daughters' cluster, lying slightly to the east of the main grouping of stars. Like all the Pleiades, Pleione is a young bluestar. It appears to be somewhat unstable, and has been observed to throw off shells of material at intervals of several decades.
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