Mars and the Pleiades Beyond Vinegar Hill

Explanation: Is this just a lonely tree on an empty hill? To start, perhaps, but look beyond . There, a busy universe may wait to be discovered. First, physically, to the left of the tree, is the planet Mars . The red planet, which is the new home to NASA's Perseverance rover , remains visible this month at sunset above the western horizon. To the tree's right is the Pleiades , a bright cluster of stars dominated by several bright blue stars. The featured picture is a composite of several separate foreground and background images taken within a few hours of each other, early last month, from the same location on Vinegar Hill in Milford, Nova Scotia , Canada . At that time, Mars was passing slowly, night after night, nearly in front of the distant Seven Sisters star cluster . The next time Mars will pass angularly as close to the Pleiades as it did in March will be in 2038 .