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Venus and the Pleiades
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Venus and the Pleiades |
| Explanation |
Venus still rules [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/ article_1194_1.asp ] the western skies after sunset as the brilliant evening star. While wandering the ecliptic [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020429.html ] with its fellow naked-eye planets earlier this month, it passed near the Pleiades [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/31mar_pleiades.htm ] star cluster, providing a striking photo opportunity for earthbound skygazers. Cataloged as M45, the Pleiades stars make for a lovely sight [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021201.html ] on their own, often shown in long exposure images immersed in hazy blue reflection [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990301.html ] nebulae. In this picture [ http://www.davidcortner.com/astro/m45venus/ ] though, recorded on the evening of April 3rd, brilliant Venus closes with the Seven Sisters [ http://www.ras.ucalgary.ca/~gibson/pleiades/ 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/messier/more/m045_tab.html ]. 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. |
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