Nights at Melinda Heights

Name: M45
Alternate Name: Pleiades
Constellation: Taurus
Distance: 400 Light Years
Magnitude: 1.6
Size: 110 Arc Minutes
Type: Open Cluster with Nebulosity
Discovered: First known observation 1600 BCE
Fun Facts: Several cultures dating back to early history mention this cluster in writing. The Greeks called it the Seven Sisters, the Arabic mention it in the Quran, and it is mentioned in the Bible as “khima”. Several indigenous American tribes mention it also; the Aztecs based their calendar on it and many other tribes mention described it as a group of lost boys who didn’t do their chores and rose to the heavens.

Telescope: Televue NP101
Camera: SBIG 8300C
Mount: Celestron CGEM
Exposure: 13×300 Seconds