Credit & Copyright: Max Inwood
Explanation:
The lovely Pleiades star cluster
shines in Earth's night sky,
a compact group of stars some 400 light-years distant
toward the constellation Taurus and the Orion Arm of
our Milky Way galaxy.
Recognized since ancient times, the
remarkable celestial gathering
is visible to the unaided eye.
The Pleiades cluster is also well-placed for viewing from both
northern and southern hemispheres,
and over the centuries has become connected to many cultural traditions and
celebrations, including the
cross-quarter day
celebration
Halloween.
In Greek
myth,
the Pleiades were seven
daughters of the astronomical titan Atlas and sea-nymph Pleione.
Galileo
first sketched the star cluster viewed through his telescope
with stars too faint to be seen by eye
and Charles Messier recorded the position of the cluster as the
45th entry in his well-known
catalog of things
which are not comets.
In this dramatic night skyscape from planet Earth,
the stars of the Pleiades appear embedded in dusty blue reflection nebulae,
poised above Mt Sefton, one of the tallest peaks in New Zealand.
There known as Matariki,
the star cluster is associated with
the celebration of the Maori new year.
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 |
Yanvar' Fevral' Mart Aprel' Mai Iyun' Iyul' Avgust Sentyabr' Oktyabr' Noyabr' Dekabr' |
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
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