APOD: Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster (2022 Dec 05)

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APOD: Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster (2022 Dec 05)

Post by APOD Robot » Mon Dec 05, 2022 5:08 am

Image Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster

Explanation: Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiades can be seen with the unaided eye even from the depths of a light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident. The featured 11-hour exposure, taken from the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia, covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of Pleiades stars visible, however, may be more or less than seven, depending on the darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight.

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Ann
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Re: APOD: Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster (2022 Dec 05)

Post by Ann » Mon Dec 05, 2022 5:36 am


Wow wow wow, this picture deserves to become an instant classic! :shock: 😃 🤩 🥳

And it's an eleven hour exposure of the Pleiades, too. The amazing quality of the image is not quite up there with Stanislav Volskiy's 212 hour exposure of Orion, but... almost!


I couldn't help myself, I cropped the lovely APOD a little to really bring out the "stellar snowstorm" and "winter wonderland" aspect of this image!

APOD 5 December 2022 cropped.png
1610721976_istock-1047094814[1].jpg

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Re: APOD: Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster (2022 Dec 05)

Post by orin stepanek » Mon Dec 05, 2022 12:46 pm

Pleiades_Estes_1080.jpg
Ah! My favorite heavenly girls! 8-) This view looks like an angel :wink:
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

idh

Re: APOD: Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster (2022 Dec 05)

Post by idh » Mon Dec 05, 2022 9:24 pm

Great image, weird orientation...mirror image, and 90 degree rotated!

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