Pleiades (M45)

Pleiades (M45) is a open cluster in the constellation Taurus, with an apparent magnitude of 1.6. It is about 438 light-years away.

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<a href="https://constellationmap.org/messier/m45-pleiades/"><img src="https://constellationmap.org/img/messier/m45-pleiades-finder-chart.png" alt="Finder chart for the Pleiades (M45) in the constellation Taurus" width="800" height="800" loading="lazy"></a>
<br><small><a href="https://constellationmap.org/messier/m45-pleiades/">Pleiades (M45)</a> · Atlas of the Sky (constellationmap.org), <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a></small>

How to find the Pleiades, step by step

Orion's Belt, Aldebaran, then the Seven Sisters.

On autumn and winter evenings find Orion's Belt.
Follow it up and to the right to orange Aldebaran in Taurus.
Continue the same direction about the same distance to a small, tight group of blue-white stars shaped like a tiny dipper: the Pleiades (M45). Most people see six or seven of them.

Pleiades or Little Dipper?

The Pleiades look like a miniature dipper, but they are an open star cluster in Taurus about 440 light-years away. The Little Dipper is a much larger pattern around Polaris, the North Star.

Facts

Catalog	Messier 45 (M45)
Type	open cluster
Constellation	Taurus
Apparent magnitude	1.6
Distance	about 438 light-years
Right ascension	3 h 47.0 min
Declination	+24.12°
Best month	January (at about 9 pm)

Sources: star positions, magnitudes and colors from the Yale Bright Star Catalogue; constellation boundaries and star names from the IAU; areas and distances from Wikidata; stick figures by M. van der Sluys. How the maps are made.

How to find the Pleiades

The Pleiades is in Taurus. From 40° N it is highest in the south in January evenings, about 74° up. From 35° S it reaches about 31° in the north. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky and easy in binoculars.

Taurus constellation →

Other Messier objects in Taurus

Crab Nebula (M1)

The Messier catalog →