Star Clusters ... Open Clusters

Star clusters are groups of stars which are held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. There are two types of star clusters which are visible in our Milky Way Galaxy, open clusters and globular clusters. Open clusters typically contain dozens to hundreds of stars, many of which are bright, young, and blue.

Known also as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades is one of the brightest and closest open clusters and actually contains in excess of  3000 stars. Like many, I use to believe that the Pleiades was the little dipper.

Object: The Pleiades Open Cluster
Distance from Earth: 380 light years
Cluster diameter: 13 light years

Photo source:  Mount Wilson Observatory