The Hyades Cluster


20 minutes exposure, Fuji Superia 200 film.
135mm f/2.8 Vivitar lens.

The Hyades is one of the nearest open clusters to the Earth, with the centre being only about 135 light years away. Situated in the constellation of Taurus, the cluster appears as a large "V", with the bright star Aldebaran at one end. This star is not associated with the cluster however, being only about 65 light years distant. The cluster contains numerous double stars and is interesting to explore with the telescope, even if it is too large to observe in the one field.