Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster

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

November 24 of 2021.
The featured image shows a deep image of the open star cluster.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

The Seven Sisters Star Cluster is named after the Seven Sisters.
The image is copyrighted by Damien Cannane.

Have you seen the star cluster? You probably have never seen it this large and clear. The bright stars of the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from the depths of a light polluted city. The dust cloud surrounding the star cluster becomes very visible with a long exposure. The sky area is several times the size of the full moon and the featured exposure was taken from Florida. The Seven Sisters and M45 are known as the Pleiades, which is 400 light years away. One of the brighter stars faded after the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the eye. The number of stars visible may be more or less than seven depending on the darkness of the sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight.

Someone to Update APOD's RSS Feed is a volunteer opportunity.
Tomorrow's picture is shadow play.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.

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

November 25 of 2021.
See the explanation. Clicking on the picture will bring you to the download page.
The highest resolution version is available.

At the Shadow's Edge.
Jean-Francois Gout has the rights to the image.

The Earth's dark central shadow or umbra has a circular cross-section. It's closer to the Moon than it is to the Earth. During the lunar eclipse of November 18-19, the moon remained outside the umbral shadow. The pictures were taken over a period of 1.5 hours. The central image at the maximum eclipse is the part of the cross-section that is aligned to trace. The moon's disk is still beyond the shadow's curved edge. The Moon's surface is not completely dark, even within the shadow, because the sunlight reflected into the shadow by Earth's atmosphere is reddish.

The lunar eclipse of November 19 is a notable APOD submission.
The picture is in space.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.