M45     The Pleiades in Taurus (NGC 1432)

        Object type:             Open Star Cluster

        Distance from Earth:      410 light years / 126 parsecs

        Distance across Cluster:  5 light years / 1.5 parsecs

        The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is one of the finest 
        examples of a young star cluster.  The cluster can be easily seen 
        with the unaided eye.  Ancient astronomers reported seeing seven 
        stars in M45, but today only six are visible without optical aid.  
        Long exposure photography shows much nebulosity in the region, the 
        gas clouds from which these stars were formed.  The cluster is very 
        young, less than 100 million years old.  Nearby is an older cluster, 
        the Hyades, of which Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) is a member.

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