                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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 December 5
       The featured image shows many blue stars clustered together in
   blue-glowing gas and dust. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                  Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster
   Image Credit & Copyright: Blake Estes (iTelescope Siding Spring Obs.) &
                               Christian Sasse

   Explanation: Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you
   have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this.
   Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of
   the Pleiades can be seen with the unaided eye even from the depths of a
   light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though,
   the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very
   evident. The featured 11-hour exposure, taken from the Siding Spring
   Observatory in Australia, covers a sky area several times the size of
   the full moon. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades
   lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull
   (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the
   brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six of
   the sister stars visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of
   Pleiades stars visible, however, may be more or less than seven,
   depending on the darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the
   observer's eyesight.

     Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                   Tomorrow's picture: star birth mountain
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

