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M45 / Pleiades

Classification: Open cluster, M45, IC349/353, Mel 22, vdB 23
Constellation: Taurus (TAU)
Object Location: Ra 03h 47m 54s Dec +24° 09’35° (current)
Size & Distance: 110 x 110 Apx 440 light-years.

Date & Location: 10-25-2016 Joshua Tree National Park, CA.
Exposure: LRGB, 120, 60, 60, 90, L-12x10, RG- 4x15, B- 6x15 (bin 1x1)
Optics: Telescope Engineering Company APO110FL @ f/5.74, 631mm.
Mount: Astro-Physics 1200 GTOCP4 / ATS 10x36 pier.
Camera: FLI-ML16200 G1 @-25c / CFW2-7 / Guided by SBIG ST-I / w OAG.
Filters: Astrodon G2 LRGB
Software: MaxImDL 6.09, Photoshop CS5, CCDStack, Topaz Labs.

Notes: Sky conditions: Below average seeing, Calm wind, Temps low 60’s
Cropped Image Field of view is 114.8 x 110.3 arcmin.
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Pleiades or Seven Sisters (Messier 45 or M45), is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. The cluster is dominated by hot blue and extremely luminous 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.
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