One of my favorite Deep Space Objects to view. I took the top image on October 28, 2024 and I took the bottom image on September 9, 2024.
For the October 28, 2024, I started imaging at 9:30pm and stopped just before 11pm. There are 20 5 minute subs stacked and processed using Pixinsight. The image was taken with my Celestron 8″ SCT, my Hyperstar, a ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera and a Antlia Triband II RGB Ultra 2″ Filter. I think it did better pulling the color and the nebula out than the first time.
On the September 9, 2024, I started imaging around 3am and the camera run 6am. There are about 160 45 second subs stacked and processed using Pixinsight. The image was also taken with my Celestron 8″ SCT, my Hyperstar and a ZWO ASI2600MC Pro (no filter). I tried taking it first without the Hyperstar attached, but the cluster was too big for the 2034m focal length.
The Pleiades also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, is an asterism of an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Taurus. At a distance of about 444 light-years, it is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and the nearest Messier object to Earth, being the most obvious star cluster to the naked eye in the night sky. It is also observed to house the reflection nebula NGC 1432, an HII region.
The beauty of this cluster is how it is dominated by hot blue luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years. Reflection nebulae around the brightest stars were once thought to be leftover material from their formation, but are now considered likely to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar medium through which the stars are currently passing.
