Dropping in on the sky | Subterranean Blog | providencejournal.com

Dropping in on the sky

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December 10, 2008 2:38 am

By Sheila Lennon

M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster
Credit & Copyright: Phillip L. Jones VisualUniverse.org

Yesterday's Astronomy Picture of the Day (NASA)

Explanation: Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city.
Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades is one of the brightest and closest open clusters.

The Pleiades contains over 3,000 stars, is about 400 light years away, and only 13 light years across...

The APOD archive is full of surprises, such as Amazing Comet Holmes, the egg that flies.

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