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M45 - The Pleiades in Taurus | |||
Probably the most famous star cluster in the sky, the Pleiades are one of
the brightest and most beautiful open star clusters. At a distance of 400
light years the Pleiades are relatively close to us. The blue hue
surrounding the brightest stars of this cluster comprising of about 3,000
stars is caused by nebulosity which is thought to originate from
inter-stellar dust in a molecular cloud situated in our line of view. The Pleiades also carry the name "Seven Sisters"; according to Greek mythology, seven daughters and their parents. The Japanese name is "Subaru", which was taken to christen the car manufacturer by the same name (whose logo depicts the stars of the Pleiades). Here is another image taken nearly two years earlier: ì Click on the image to open a high resolution version. |
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