Pleiades (M45)
Also known as M45 · M 45 · Pleiades · Mel022 · Pleiades
Pleiades (M45) is an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus, about 440 light-years from Earth.
Facts
| Type | Open star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Position (J2000) | 3h 47m 28s, +24° 06′ |
| Distance | 440 light-years (its light set off about 440 years ago) |
| Brightness | magnitude 1.2 (smaller is brighter; the faintest stars the eye sees are about 6) |
| Size on the sky | 76.9′ × 76.9′ (the full Moon is about 31′) |
| Filter | No filter (It shines in starlight of every colour, so a nebula filter would only dim it; a dark sky helps more.) |
| Studied in | 3,737 scientific papers (SIMBAD) |
When and how to see it
Pleiades (M45) is highest in the sky at midnight in November. From India (about 20° N) it climbs to about 86° above the horizon; from 50° N, to about 64°. To see it you need the naked eye, even from a town.
Heights are worked out for India and for 50° N. Set your location in Settings to see them for where you are.
For tonight's best time from your own town, the darkness and the Moon, open it on the map and see its "Tonight from your location" card.
More in Taurus
- Barnard's Merope Nebula (IC 349)
- Crab Nebula (M1)
- Crab Pulsar (PSR B0531+21)
- Hyades
- Maia Nebula (NGC 1432)
- Merope Nebula (NGC 1435)
- Simeis 147
- Spaghetti Nebula
Everything in Taurus · All 88 constellations · All sky objects
Data: SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg; the site's weekly copy) · OpenNGC · Data sources & credits