Explanation:
This cosmic vista
stretches almost 20 degrees across the
gentle
constellation Taurus.
It begins at the Pleiades and ends at the Hyades, two of the best known
star clusters in planet Earth's sky.
At left, the
lovely Pleiades star cluster is about 400
light-years away.
In a familiar celestial scene, the cluster stars shine through
dusty clouds that scatter blue starlight.
At right, the V-shaped Hyades cluster looks more spread out compared
to the compact Pleiades and lies much closer,
150
light-years distant.
Of course, 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 away, by chance
along the line of sight to the Hyades cluster.
Faint dust clouds
found near the edge of the
Taurus Molecular Cloud
are also evident throughout the remarkable 12 panel mosaic.
The wide field of view includes the youthful star
T Tauri and Hind's
variable nebula about four degrees left of Aldebaran on the sky.
