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Credit & Copyright: Max Inwood
Explanation:
The lovely Pleiades star cluster
shines in Earth's night sky,
a compact group of stars some 400 light-years distant
toward the constellation Taurus and the Orion Arm of
our Milky Way galaxy.
Recognized since ancient times, the
remarkable celestial gathering
is visible to the unaided eye.
The Pleiades cluster is also well-placed for viewing from both
northern and southern hemispheres,
and over the centuries has become connected to many cultural traditions and
celebrations, including the
cross-quarter day
celebration
Halloween.
In Greek
myth,
the Pleiades were seven
daughters of the astronomical titan Atlas and sea-nymph Pleione.
Galileo
first sketched the star cluster viewed through his telescope
with stars too faint to be seen by eye
and Charles Messier recorded the position of the cluster as the
45th entry in his well-known
catalog of things
which are not comets.
In this dramatic night skyscape from planet Earth,
the stars of the Pleiades appear embedded in dusty blue reflection nebulae,
poised above Mt Sefton, one of the tallest peaks in New Zealand.
There known as Matariki,
the star cluster is associated with
the celebration of the Maori new year.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: pleiades
Publications with words: pleiades
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 25 Á The Meteor and the Star Cluster
- APOD: 2025 July 8 Á The Pleiades in Red and Blue
- APOD: 2025 April 8 Á Moon Visits Sister Stars
- APOD: 2025 March 5 Á Seven Sisters versus California
- APOD: 2025 January 27 Á Pleiades over Half Dome
- APOD: 2024 December 9 Á Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster
- APOD: 2024 September 29 Á Seven Dusty Sisters