The Pleiades (aka Subaru or Seven Sisters, M45)


This open cluster of very bright, young stars is one of the best known objects in the night sky. It is significant in the mythology of many cultures, and therefore is known by many names. Yes, the Japanese automobile manufacturer takes its name and logo from the Japanese name for the cluster, Subaru.

M45 is only about 400 light years from Earth – one of the nearest star clusters. It is located in the constellation Taurus. The stars themselves shine bright blue because they are so hot. The surrounding dust reflects this blue light to form the beautiful wispy structure. This has been my best-selling image lately and is available in several sizes. It is particularly stunning on back-lit film.

Scope: AT111EDT at f/5.6
Mount: CGEM
Camera: QSI 583 at –25C
Exposure: 10 x 120s L, 10 x 240s L, 10 x 240s RGB (3 hrs total)


About Greg Marshall

I am a retired electronics engineer and after a few months of enjoying my leisure I began to miss doing product development. My astronomy hobby always needed new solutions to unique problems, so I decided that whenever I came up with a good solution I would try to make it available to others.

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