Venus still rules [
http://skyandtelesc…article_1194_1.asp ] the western skies after sunset as the brilliant evening star. While wandering the ecliptic [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] with its fellow naked-eye planets earlier this month, it passed near the Pleiades [
http://science.nasa…] star cluster, providing a striking photo opportunity for earthbound skygazers. Cataloged as M45, the Pleiades stars make for a lovely sight [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] on their own, often shown in long exposure images immersed in hazy blue reflection [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] nebulae. In this picture [
http://www.davidcor…] though, recorded on the evening of April 3rd, brilliant Venus closes with the Seven Sisters [
http://www.ras.ucal…pleiades_myth.html ] and overwhelms the light from the delicate cosmic clouds. The view offers a study in contrasts as Venus appears about 700 times brighter than Alcyone, the Pleiades brightest star [
http://www.seds.org…]. With Venus just over 5 light-minutes from Earth, Alcyone and the other Pleiades cluster stars are about 400 light-years distant. Formed out of the contracting nebula which gave birth to the Sun, Venus is also roughly 4.5 billion years old. The stars of the Pleiades are likely aged a mere hundred million years.
Explanation
Venus still rules [
http://skyandtelesc…article_1194_1.asp ] the western skies after sunset as the brilliant evening star. While wandering the ecliptic [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] with its fellow naked-eye planets earlier this month, it passed near the Pleiades [
http://science.nasa…] star cluster, providing a striking photo opportunity for earthbound skygazers. Cataloged as M45, the Pleiades stars make for a lovely sight [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] on their own, often shown in long exposure images immersed in hazy blue reflection [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] nebulae. In this picture [
http://www.davidcor…] though, recorded on the evening of April 3rd, brilliant Venus closes with the Seven Sisters [
http://www.ras.ucal…pleiades_myth.html ] and overwhelms the light from the delicate cosmic clouds. The view offers a study in contrasts as Venus appears about 700 times brighter than Alcyone, the Pleiades brightest star [
http://www.seds.org…]. With Venus just over 5 light-minutes from Earth, Alcyone and the other Pleiades cluster stars are about 400 light-years distant. Formed out of the contracting nebula which gave birth to the Sun, Venus is also roughly 4.5 billion years old. The stars of the Pleiades are likely aged a mere hundred million years.
Explanation
