Merope
Captured November 2025.
Merope and the Seven Sisters — A Blue Christmas from Space ✨
Captured at Space Haven Observatory in Fair Haven, NJ, this is Merope — one of the brightest jewels in the Pleiades star cluster (M45), also known as the Seven Sisters.
Those ethereal blue clouds aren’t just lens flare — they’re actual dust reflecting the brilliant light of these young, hot stars 440 light-years away. At only 100 million years old, these stellar siblings are practically newborns in cosmic terms, wrapped in the remnants of the nebula that formed them.
The Pleiades have been humanity’s winter companion for millennia, rising in the east as temperatures drop. This year, they’re my holiday card — a blue Christmas written in starlight and cosmic dust.
Scope: Planewave CDK12.5 (f/5.28 with 0.66× reducer)
Camera: ASI2600MM Pro
Filters: L-RGB
Integration: 172 frames, 3 hours total exposure
Processing: 15 hours (Astro Pixel Processor + Affinity Photo)
Imaging dates: Late November 2025
Location: Bortle 6-7 skies, New Jersey
Clear skies and happy holidays! 🎄💙