2026-10-06 - M45 - The Pleiades - Mosaic

The night was crisp and clear with temperatures dropping into the low 50s. Seeing was calm and steady, and atmospheric transparency was well above average, giving us crisp pinpoint stars across the field of view. Operating under our local fall and winter sky, this site offers a solid Bortle 4.0 background when the moon is absent, which makes a huge difference when attempting to reveal subtle reflection nebulae. The resulting mosaic image highlights the Seven Sisters embedded in their famous shimmering blue veil. The bright, hot B-type stars illuminate the complex structures of the faint dust clouds surrounding them, creating delicate, thread-like tendrils of reflection nebulosity. The wide-field framing captures both the bright core cluster and the surrounding faint dark dust lanes that extend outward into the surrounding star field, giving a wonderful sense of depth to this classic autumn target.

10-14 23:10 · United States Pennsylvania

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