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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 December 9
      A star field shows many bright blue stars as well as bright blue
        reflecting gas. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                  Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Francesco Pelizzo

   Explanation: Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you
   have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this.
   Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of
   the Pleiades can be seen with the unaided eye even from the depths of a
   light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though,
   the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very
   evident. The featured 23-hour exposure, taken from Fagagna, Italy
   covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. Also known
   as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years
   away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend
   with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the
   cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the
   unaided eye. The actual number of Pleiades stars visible, however, may
   be more or less than seven, depending on the darkness of the
   surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight.

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