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Credit & Copyright: Phillip L. Jones
VisualUnivese.org
Explanation:
Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the
Pleiades
can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a
light-polluted city.
Also known as the Seven Sisters and
M45,
the Pleiades is one of the
brightest and closest open clusters.
The Pleiades
contains over 3,000 stars, is about 400
light years away, and only 13 light years across.
A prominent
telescope and
car company
has borrowed the star cluster's name.
Quite evident in the
above photograph
are the blue reflection nebulae
that surround the brighter cluster
stars.
Low mass, faint, brown dwarfs have also
been found in
the
Pleiades.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 45 - pleiades
Publications with words: M 45 - pleiades
See also: