The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters star cluster, is one of the most iconic features in the night sky.

While the cluster contains six to seven bright blue stars that can be seen by the naked eye, it's actually surrounded by a huge, hidden stellar family.

That's according to new research out of the US, which used data from two large telescopes to find thousands of "siblings" of the Sisters.

The study, which was published in The Astrophysical Journal , means the cluster is 20 times larger than previously thought.

For astronomers, the Pleiades is one of the best-studied clusters of stars.

But it's also important in many cultures around the world — including Indigenous Australian and Māori cultures — and has been depicted in books and art since the Bronze Age.

"The Pleiades has been recogni

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