Hi all,
It seems to be generally accepted as fact that the 'doaro' cluster of stars on f68r3 represents the Pleides, but I wonder why this assumption is made. True, there are 7 stars in the picture and classically there were 7 Pleaides, but the arrangement of the stars in the picture doesn't really correspond with the true appearance of the stars in the cluster. In fact visually there are usually more than 7 visible unless light pollution is a problem - and I assume it was not at the time the VMS was written.
Is there any other evidence that the 'doaro' cluster is the Pleaides, or is it just an assumption that's persisted over the years? Given that none of the other star layouts seem representative of anything, I wonder if the doaro group was simply intended to look like the others but the artist accidentally drew them too small!
Cheers,
Jon.