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Credit & Copyright: Todd Anderson
Explanation:
On the right, dressed in blue, is the
Pleiades.
Also known as the
Seven Sisters and
M45,
the Pleiades
is one of the brightest and
most easily visible
open clusters
on the sky.
The Pleiades
contains over 3,000 stars, is about 400 light years away,
and only 13 light years across.
Surrounding the stars is a spectacular blue
reflection nebula
made of fine
dust.
A
common legend is that one of the brighter stars
faded since the cluster was named.
On the left, shining in red, is the
California Nebula.
Named for its shape, the
California
Nebula is much dimmer and hence harder to see
than the Pleiades.
Also known as NGC 1499, this mass of red glowing
hydrogen gas is about 1,500 light years away.
Although about 25 full moons could fit
between them, the
featured wide angle, deep field image composite has captured
them
both.
A careful inspection
of the deep image will also reveal the star forming region
IC 348 and
the molecular cloud
LBN 777 (the Baby Eagle Nebula).
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
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: California Nebula - pleiades - M 45
Publications with words: California Nebula - pleiades - M 45
See also:
- APOD: 2025 January 27 Á Pleiades over Half Dome
- APOD: 2024 December 9 Á Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster
- APOD: 2024 September 29 Á Seven Dusty Sisters
- APOD: 2024 September 3 Á Quarter Moon and Sister Stars
- APOD: 2024 January 29 Á The Pleiades: Seven Dusty Sisters
- APOD: 2023 December 19 Á NGC 1499: The California Nebula
- Pic du Pleiades