M 45 - Open Star Cluster in the constellation Taurus (the Bull)

The Pleiades are a bright star cluster in Taurus, which is easily visible to the naked eye even under a brightened sky. It belongs to the objects in the sky that were known to mankind long before the invention of the telescope. Therefore, it is part of the folklore and myths of many cultures on our planet.
The 7 brightest stars are named after figures of the Greek mythology, the Titan Atlas, his wife Pleione and their seven daughters Alkyone, Asterope, Celaeno, Elektra, Maia, Merope and Taygete. According to mythology, they were pursued by the celestial hunter Orion. Zeus moved the Pleiades to the sky as a constellation, but even there they are still pursued by Orion, whose constellation adjoins the constellation Taurus to the southeast.
The star cluster currently passes through a molecular cloud known as the Taurus-Auriga dark nebula complex. The light from the bright Pleiades stars is reflected from it, forming the blue reflection nebulae.

Date:	04.10.2019
Optics:	Pentax SDP 105 with 0.72x reducer
Aperture:	105 mm
Focal Length:	510 mm
Camera:	Canon EOS 700Dac
Exposure:	25 x 300 s
Location:	Chamaeleon Observatory, Onjala Lodge, Namibia
Processing:	Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop
Diameter:	14 light years
Distance:	445 light years