On the upper right, dressed in blue, is the
Pleiades .
Also known as the
Seven
Sisters and
M45 ,
the Pleiades
is one of the brightest and
most easily visible
open clusters
on the sky.
The Pleiades
contains over 3,000 stars, is about 400 light years away, and only 13 light
years across.
Surrounding the stars is a spectacular blue
reflection nebula made of fine
dust .
A
common legend is that one of the brighter stars
faded since the cluster was named.
On the lower left, shining in red, is the
California Nebula .
Named for its shape, the
California
Nebula is much dimmer and hence harder to see
than the Pleiades .
Also known as NGC 1499 , this mass of red glowing
hydrogen gas is about 1,500 light years away.
Although about 250 full moons could fit
between them , the above wide angle, deep field image composite has captured
them
both .
