Total Exposure Time: 16:10 hours
LRGB 240:250:230:250 / UNGUIDED
RA 03h 47m, Dec 24° 07' 30"
Focal Length 600.3 mm, Scale 1.855 "/PixelThis image is 3295x2495 pixels

Imaged under the crystal clear skies of SkyGems Station, Nerpio Spain, 1650 meters high
www.skygemsobservatories.com

Officina Stellare Riccardi-Honders Veloce 200 RH OTA
ASA DDM60 Pro Mount
Officina Stellare - http://www.officinastellare.com/products_scheda.php?idProd=15
On my site - http://www.pbase.com/boren/officina_stellare_riccardihonders_veloce_rh_200
Deeper technical informaiton on the Riccardi-Honders design - http://www.telescope-optics.net/honders_camera.htm
ASA DDM60 Pro - http://www.astrosysteme.at/eng/mount_ddm60.html
On my site - http://www.pbase.com/boren/asa_ddm60_pro
SBIG ST8300M, Astrodon Gen II

M 45, better known as the Pleiades, is an open cluster which is easily visible with the unaided eye. It is sometimes called "The Seven Sisters," and with a dark sky and good eyesight you can probably see 6 or 7 of the brightest stars in the cluster (actually, there are reports from centuries past of particularly well-sighted observers seeing up to 14 members of the cluster without a telescope).

The blue reflection nebula throughout the cluster is caused by the light from these bright stars reflecting off a cloud of gas and dust which the cluster happens to be passing through at this time -- it is not the leftovers of the cloud out of which this cluster formed. M 45 is 380 light years from the earth.