It is the closest cluster of stars
to the Sun. The Hyades open cluster is
bright enough to have been remarked on even thousands of years ago, yet is not
as bright or compact as the nearby Pleiades (M45)
star cluster. Pictured here is a particularly deep image of the Hyades which
has brings out vivid star colors and
faint coincidental nebulas. The brightest star in the field is yellow Aldebaran, the
eye of the bull toward the constellation of
Taurus. Aldebaran, at
65 light-years away,
is now known to be unrelated to the Hyades cluster,
which lies about 150 light-years away. The central Hyades stars are
spread out over about 15 light-years. Formed about 625 million years ago, the Hyades likely
shares a common origin with the Beehive cluster (M44),
a naked-eye open star cluster toward the constellation of
Cancer, based on M44‘s
motion through space and remarkably similar age.
Image & info via APOD : https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Jose Mtanous
Image Credit & Copyright: Jose Mtanous
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