Clusters & Stars
The Pleiades
The Pleiades (Messier 45, the Seven Sisters), the brightest open star cluster, in Taurus – photographed by Pete Lawrence.
Target details
The Pleiades (Messier 45), also called the Seven Sisters, is an open star cluster in Taurus – one of the nearest to Earth and the easiest cluster to see with the naked eye. Its hot, blue, extremely bright stars all formed within the last 100 million years. The faint haze around the brightest stars was once thought to be left over from their birth, but it's actually an unrelated dust cloud the cluster happens to be drifting through. The cluster should hold together for about another 250 million years before gravity from its neighbours pulls it apart.
Capture details
Data captured 4th November, 2016.
36x 8 minute exposures at ISO400.
Equipment details
Orion Europa 200
NEQ6 Pro
Nikon d7100
Skywatcher ST-80
QHY5L-II
Processing details
This image was processed in Pixinsight & Lightroom.
Quick facts
- What is The Pleiades?
- The Pleiades (Messier 45), also called the Seven Sisters, is an open star cluster in Taurus – one of the nearest to Earth and the easiest cluster to see with the naked eye. Its hot, blue, extremely bright stars all formed within the last 100 million years.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In the constellation Taurus.
- What are its catalogue names?
- M45
- When was this photo taken?
- 4 November 2016
- What equipment was used?
- Orion Europa 200, NEQ6 Pro, Nikon d7100, Skywatcher ST-80, QHY5L-II
- Where was it taken from?
- Lisburn, Northern Ireland.