From the National Optical Astronomical Observatories
The star Merope, in the familiar object the Pleiades, in a three-color composite image obtained with the Burrell Schmidt telescope of Case Western Reserve University's Warner and Swasey Observatory. The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier object 45, and Subaru in Japanese is one of the more prominent naked eye objects in the sky and, as such, has been known since antiquity, including three mentions in the bible. The Pleiades are embedded in a blue reflection nebula, clearly visible around Merope in this image.
Image Title: Merope in the Pleiades
Credit: AURA/NOAO/NSF
Text based on accompanying on-line materials.
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Last Modified On: Saturday, December 16, 2000