Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Taurus (Tau)  ·  Contains:  Merope nebula  ·  NGC 1435  ·  The star Electra (17Tau)  ·  The star Merope (23Tau)  ·  The star ηTau
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The Merope Nebula in M45, Hap Griffin
The Merope Nebula in M45
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The Merope Nebula in M45

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The Merope Nebula in M45, Hap Griffin
The Merope Nebula in M45
Powered byPixInsight

The Merope Nebula in M45

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Description

he beautiful Merope Nebula in M45, the Pleiades star cluster. The nebula reflects the blue light from the 4th magnitude star, Merope, embedded within it. It consists mostly of hydrogen gas and carbon dust particles. It is only one section of the much larger nebula encasing the entire Pleiades star cluster. Once thought to be the birth cloud of the stars within the cluster, studies of the velocities of the stars compared to the nebula reveal that we are seeing a lucky coincidence of the star cluster simply passing through the cloud at the present time. I have always been fascinated by the nebula's appearance of being "combed" by the intertwining magnetic fields in the area.

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The Merope Nebula in M45, Hap Griffin