The
Pleiades (
/ˈpliː.əˌdiːz, ˈpleɪ-, ˈplaɪ-/),=10.5px also known as
The Seven Sisters and
Messier 45, is an
open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot
B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation
Taurus, averaging approximately 444 ly in distance from Sol. It is among the
star clusters nearest to Earth, it is the nearest
Messier object to Earth, and is the cluster most obvious to the
naked eye in the
night sky.The cluster is dominated by
hot blue and luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years.
Reflection nebulae around the brightest stars were once thought to be left over material from their formation, but are now considered likely to be an unrelated dust cloud in the
interstellar medium through which the stars are currently passing.Computer simulations have shown that the Pleiades were probably formed from a compact configuration that resembled the
Orion Nebula.
[10] Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which it will disperse due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighborhood.
I shortened exposure time to 120 secs for 164 image frames. I used no filters as reflection nebula details can easily be lost even in the mildest of light pollution filters.
This is my best rendition of this formation to date (IMO).
See this Wikipedia link for even more details and the folk lore around this star cluster.
Pleiades - Wikipedia
Comments