Cosmic Scale
Pleiades
Open star cluster · 444 light-years
How big is Pleiades?
Pleiades is about 86.0 light-years across.
See Pleiades in 3D, at true scale
The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, is a cluster of young, hot blue stars — among the nearest to Earth and one of the most obvious to the naked eye. A faint blue haze around them is dust that the cluster is passing through.
At a glance
| Diameter | 86.0 light-years |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.59 × 10³³ kg |
| Diameter compared with Earth | 6.4 × 10¹⁰ × Earth |
| Distance | 444 light-years |
| Age | About 125 million years |
| Stars | Over 1,000 |
| Japanese name | Subaru |
Good to know
- Subaru's six-star logo is the Pleiades.
- Its blue glow is not left over from the stars' birth; they are just passing through an unrelated cloud.
- It appears in the myths of cultures all over the world.
- Next smaller: Eagle Nebula · 70.0 light-years
- Next larger: Omega Centauri · 150 light-years