Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Taurus (Tau)  ·  Contains:  IC 353  ·  Maia nebula  ·  Merope nebula  ·  NGC 1432  ·  NGC 1435  ·  The star 18Tau  ·  The star 32Tau  ·  The star Atlas (27Tau)  ·  The star Celaeno (16Tau)  ·  The star Electra (17Tau)  ·  The star Merope (23Tau)  ·  The star Pleione (28Tau)  ·  The star Sterope I (21Tau)  ·  The star Taygeta (19Tau)  ·  The star ηTau
M45 , Adrien Klamerius
M45
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M45

M45 , Adrien Klamerius
M45
Powered byPixInsight

M45

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Description

The Pleiades or M45 is an open star cluster 444 ly from Earth in the constellation of Taurus. It has been known since antiquity as it's one of the closest and most obvious cluster to the naked eye in the night sky. The cluster is dominated by blue middle-aged, hot B-type stars that are extremely luminous and have formed within the last 100 million years.

The dust that forms a faint reflection nebulosity around the brightest stars are not remnants from the formation of cluster, which would have dispersed by radiation pressure. Instead it's now know to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar medium, through which the stars are currently passing.

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M45 , Adrien Klamerius