The Pleiades (M45) are an open star cluster in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters. It is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Pleiades has several meanings in different cultures and traditions.
The cluster is dominated by hot blue stars that have formed within the last 100 million years. Dust that forms a faint reflection nebulosity around the brightest stars was thought at first to be left over from the formation of the cluster (hence the alternate name Maia Nebula after the star Maia), but is now known to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar medium that the stars are currently passing through. Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which it will disperse due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighbourhood.

Images by Simon Dawes

M45_60s_subs_x_31_135mm_f2_D600-BAA

M45 SD KellingHeath

Imaged by Simon Dawes.
William Optics ED80, Canon 650D, 105m integration

Images by Honor Wheeler

Images by Neil Webster

M45-PLEIADES-Dec-2020-jpeg

Image by Neil Webster – no Details Provided

HW_M45

Pleiades Master (2)

Image by Brian Thompson

Date: 18/02/2015
Equipment: Orion Optics VX10 scope, Skywatcher NEQ6 mount, Mono Atik 383L camera, QHY5 Guide Camera.
Frames:13 X 120s lights, no darks.
Processing: Stacked and processed in Astro Art.

m45_aw01

Imaged by: Andrew Wilson
Method: MX916 CCD with 35mm lens, 10 x 5 seconds

m45_kr01

Imaged by Keith Rickard
Method: Olympus OM1n 210mm telephoto lens, piggy-backed on LX200 8″, Kodak Elitechrome ISO 200 film, 20 minutes. (Published in Astronomy Now!)

M45 Martin Crow

Imaged by Martin Crow at Kelling Heath Star Party 2012

M45_JT01

Imaged by Julian Tworek
Instrument: AstroTrac Canon 100-400 lens @ 200mm ISO1600 13 x 120s Images Canon 20D (Modified)
Details: Taken at Kelling heath Star Party