I was unable to image the open cluster M45 this year due to the weather. This image was acquired six years ago, January 18, 2018, and reprocessed today, February 25, 2024. It shows the stars representing the seven sisters of Greek mythology from which the English name of the cluster is derived, with those seven stars labeled.

The closest star cluster to Earth at about 400 light years distant, the Pleiades are easily visible to the naked eye and have been known to observers of the night sky for thousands of years. Observant viewers may note that there are actually eight stars labeled in this image. The reason is that Asterope and Sterope II are actually a double star, separated from each other by a little less than 3 arc-minutes. To the unaided eye, they appear to be a single slightly elongated star.