﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 April 5 [2]The featured image shows a wide field with the red California Nebula on the far left, the blue Pleiades Star Cluster on the right, and much brown interstellar dust in between. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Seven Sisters versus California Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Neven Krcmarek Explanation: On the upper right, dressed in blue, is the [4]Pleiades. Also known as the [5]Seven Sisters and [6]M45, [7]the Pleiades is one of the brightest and [8]most easily visible [9]open clusters on the sky. [10]The Pleiades contains over 3,000 stars, is about 400 light years away, and only 13 light years across. [11]Surrounding the stars is a spectacular blue [12]reflection nebula made of fine [13]dust. [14]A common legend is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named. On the lower left, shining in red, is the [15]California Nebula. Named for its shape, the [16]California Nebula is much dimmer and hence harder to see than [17]the Pleiades. Also known as [18]NGC 1499, this mass of red glowing hydrogen gas is about 1,500 [19]light years away. Although about 25 full moons could fit [20]between them, the [21]featured wide angle, deep field image composite has captured [22]them [23]both. A [24]careful inspection of the deep image will also reveal the star forming region [25]IC 348 and the [26]molecular cloud [27]LBN 777 (the Baby Eagle Nebula). Tomorrow's picture: far star __________________________________________________________________ [28]< | [29]Archive | [30]Submissions | [31]Index | [32]Search | [33]Calendar | [34]RSS | [35]Education | [36]About APOD | [37]Discuss | [38]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [39]Robert Nemiroff ([40]MTU) & [41]Jerry Bonnell ([42]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [43]Specific rights apply. [44]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [45]ASD at [46]NASA / [47]GSFC & [48]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2204/Calif2Pleiades_Krcmarek_10000.jpg 3. https://www.astrobin.com/users/NevenKrcmarek/ 4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap950620.html 5. https://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/pleiades_myth.html 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211124.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170314.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/open_clusters.html 10. https://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/ 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200323.html 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_nebula 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#dust 14. https://arxiv.org/pdf/0810.1592 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060924.html 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California 17. https://youtu.be/V0qMKgeVR5M 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Nebula 19. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090411.html 21. https://www.astrobin.com/id3tq9/ 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960618.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090212.html 24. https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/30/20/56019439-10669595-This_adorable_tiny_kitten_who_is_entranced_by_the_computer_scree-m-73_1648669189326.jpg 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151010.html 26. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_cloud 27. https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-lbn777/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220404.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 37. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220405 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220406.html 39. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 40. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 41. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 42. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 43. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 44. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 45. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 46. https://www.nasa.gov/ 47. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 48. http://www.mtu.edu/