Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2019 December 6

                             Pleiades to Hyades
              Image Credit & Copyright: Amir H. Abolfath (TWAN)

   Explanation: This cosmic vista stretches almost 20 degrees from top to
   bottom, across the dusty constellation Taurus. It begins at the
   Pleiades and ends at the Hyades, two star clusters recognized since
   antiquity in Earth's night sky. At top, the compact Pleiades star
   cluster is about 400 light-years away. The lovely grouping of young
   cluster stars shine through dusty clouds that scatter blue starlight.
   At bottom, the V-shaped Hyades cluster looks more spread out in
   comparison and lies much closer, 150 light-years away. The Hyades
   cluster stars seem anchored by bright Aldebaran, a red giant star with
   a yellowish appearance. But Aldebaran actually lies only 65 light-years
   distant and just by chance along the line of sight to the Hyades
   cluster. Faint and darkly obscuring dust clouds found near the edge of
   the Taurus Molecular Cloud are also evident throughout the celestial
   scene. The wide field of view includes the dark nebula Barnard 22 at
   left with youthful star T Tauri and Hind's variable nebula just above
   Aldebaran in the frame.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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