Posted on 09/29/2024 1:20:38 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Is this really the famous Pleiades star cluster? Known for its iconic blue stars, the Pleiades is shown here in infrared light where the surrounding dust outshines the stars. Here, three infrared colors have been mapped into visual colors (R=24, G=12, B=4.6 microns). The base images were taken by NASA's orbiting Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. Cataloged as M45 and nicknamed the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades star cluster is by chance situated in a passing dust cloud. The light and winds from the massive Pleiades stars preferentially repel smaller dust particles, causing the dust to become stratified into filaments, as seen. The featured image spans about 20 light years at the distance of the Pleiades, which lies about 450 light years distant toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus).
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
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SUBARU!...................
I do take issue with the writer of the article whe it’s stated that the Pleiades are “nicknamed” the Seven Sisters.
The Ancient Greeks called them that- in Greek mythology they were the “daughters of Pleione, a sea nymph.
Another nearby star cluster The Hyades, was considered sisters of the Pleiades, born of Pleione and Atlas. I love how ancient cultures created mythologies based on what they saw in the night sky. The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, the Japanese, the Turks, even the native Americans and Inuits. All had their own .
I remember some woman, a friend of my then-girlfriend, informing me that the Subaru logo was a depiction of the Pleiades, “you know, the Seven Sisters”. I asked why the Subaru logo had only six stars, but received no answer.
I like the Pleiades. They’re one of the few things I recognize in the night sky, since I never was very good at spotting constellations. Once, on a very clear and still night in the mountains at about 8500 feet, I was able to see 10 stars in the cluster (maybe 11, but I wasn’t certain of the last one).
ya... they kinda diminished the stars with the over enhancement of the gases... pics from 30 years ago shown much better detail. than todays vivid imaginations.
Looks like Kid Rock riding a seahorse…..eating a cheeseburger.
10 stars! Wow! I can see 7 but I need my binoculars to do it. I’ll need my 115mm refractor to see more!
That was an unusually clear night, even for 44 years ago. It’s a long time since I’ve seen even seven.
There’s now enough air pollution making it across the Pacific that I’ll never live to see a sky as clear as was common 40 or 50 years ago. Thanks, China.
You’re more into it than I am. I have an old 60mm Meade refractor but I haven’t even set it up in years. Once in a while I’ll use binoculars, in fact just this morning I got out the binocs to look for that comet. Didn’t see it.
My first telescope was the same as yours, it was a Monolux 60mm refractor. In 2004 I purchased a Stellarvue 115mm refractor w/a Losmandy gm8 mount. That’s my main scope. The club I belong to has a 10” refractor in an observatory.
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