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Credit & Copyright: Amir H. Abolfath
(TWAN)
Explanation:
This
cosmic vista stretches almost 20 degrees from top to
bottom, across the
dusty
constellation Taurus.
It begins at the Pleiades and ends at the Hyades,
two star clusters recognized
since
antiquity in Earth's night sky.
At top, the compact
Pleiades star cluster is about 400
light-years away.
The lovely grouping of young cluster stars shine through
dusty clouds that scatter blue starlight.
At bottom, the V-shaped Hyades cluster looks more spread out
in comparison and lies much closer,
150 light-years away.
The
Hyades cluster
stars seem anchored by
bright
Aldebaran, a red giant star with a yellowish appearance.
But Aldebaran actually lies only 65 light-years distant and just
by chance along the line of sight to the Hyades cluster.
Faint and darkly obscuring dust clouds found near the edge of the
Taurus
Molecular Cloud are also evident throughout the celestial scene.
The wide field of view includes the dark nebula
Barnard 22 at left with youthful star
T Tauri and Hind's
variable nebula just above Aldebaran in the frame.
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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: pleiades - hyades
Publications with words: pleiades - hyades
See also:
- 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
- Pic du Pleiades
- APOD: 2023 February 19 Á Seven Dusty Sisters in Infrared
- Messier 45: The Daughters of Atlas and Pleione