Optical photograph of M45, the Pleiades open star cluster. The brighter stars of the cluster are embedded in a distinctive blue halo, caused by their

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Optical photograph of M45, the Pleiades open star cluster. The brighter stars of the cluster are embedded in a distinctive blue halo, caused by their starlight reflecting off dust particles in the cold gas around them. Only 400 light years from Earth, the Pleiades consists of some 300-500 stars, six or seven of which (\the seven sisters\") are visible to the naked eye. 10 Jan, 1986. 6-inch, f/4 RFT, 15 mins, Fuji 400-D pushed to 1600."

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Size: 4925px × 3619px
Photo credit: © DR FRED ESPENAK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, cluster, cosmology, m45, open, pleiades, science, star, stars, stellar