star novice: writing a novel & want to get astronomy right

[fee]

Hello,

I am a total astronomy novice and am writing fiction that includes mention of the Pleiades being pointed out, by one

of my characters to another,

 in a night sky over Belfast in the late 1960s-early 1970s.  Will this ring true?

Thanks for reading and for help.

[Danny57]

Hi,

The Pleiades are a prominent naked-eye star cluster, best seen on a nightly basis (weather allowing!) during the winter months for us in the northern hemisphere. They would have been more easily seen from Belfast 50 years ago than now, as there would have been a lot less artificial light in the city, especially with the prevailing unrest at the time. If you have a specific date/time that you want to set out in your book, there are a number of planetarium programs that will display the sky at that point. Stellarium is a user-friendly and well-built site, but 'others are available', as they say. Download one of them, and start exploring; ask here again if you get stuck or have more queations. If you're coming to next Wednesday's lecture, make yourself known as well.
Good luck with your book,
Danny

[fee]

Thank you, Danny57, for such a speedy reply--most helpful. At least there's that one moment where I'm sure of facts being ok, so far, within my pages.
:-D ...I'm writing fiction, spanning most of the years of The Troubles, and facts are important.
Thanks again, F