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                           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.   
      
                                  2024 December 9   
         A star field shows many bright blue stars as well as bright blue   
           reflecting gas. Please see the explanation for more detailed   
                                   information.   
      
                     Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster   
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Francesco Pelizzo   
      
      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 23-hour exposure, taken from Fagagna, Italy   
      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.   
      
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          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
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