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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Seven Dusty Sisters
Explanation: Is this really the famous Pleaides star cluster? Known for its iconic blue stars , the Pleaides is shown here in infrared light where the surrounding dust outshines the stars. Here three infrared colors have been mapped into visual colors (R=24, G=12, B=4.6 micron s). The base images were taken by NASA's orbiting Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. Cataloged as M45 and nicknamed the Seven Sisters , the Pleiades star cluster is by chance situated in a passing dust cloud . The light and winds from the massive Pleiades stars preferentially repels smaller dust particles , causing the dust to become stratified into filaments , as seen. The featured image spans about 20 light years at the distance of the Pleiades , which lies about 450 light years distant toward the constellation of the Bull ( Taurus ).
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| Date | May 28, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit: WISE , IRSA , NASA ; Processing & Copyright : Francesco Antonucci |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |