Pleides (M45) – 7 Sisters

Pleides (M45) – 7 Sisters

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The Pleiades, often referred to as the Seven Sisters, is a dazzling open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus. It sits about 440 light-years away from Earth, close enough that it’s one of the most easily visible clusters in the night sky, even without a telescope. On a clear, dark night, the cluster appears as a small group of twinkling blue stars, often mistaken for a mini version of the Big Dipper. The stars in the Pleiades are relatively young—just around 100 million years old—and still wrapped in the remnants of the gas and dust clouds from which they were born.

These bright, hot stars are primarily of the B-type spectral class, which means they shine with a brilliant blue-white light. When photographed with long exposure, a faint blue haze can be seen surrounding the cluster—this is not leftover material from star formation, as once thought, but rather a reflection nebula, caused by the cluster passing through a dusty region of space. The dust scatters the blue light of the stars, creating the ethereal glow that gives the Pleiades its distinctive, dreamy look. Though only six or seven stars are usually visible to the naked eye, there are actually over a thousand stars in the cluster, ranging in size and brightness.

Throughout history, the Pleiades have been a source of fascination for cultures all over the world. They appear in myths and legends from ancient Greece to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australia. Often seen as sisters or companions journeying across the sky, the cluster has served as a celestial symbol of unity, navigation, and storytelling. Even now, with all our scientific understanding, the sight of the Pleiades drifting above the horizon continues to stir the imagination, reminding us of both the intimacy and the enormity of the cosmos.