Sparkling like diamonds scattered on velvet, the stars of the Pleiades contain the faint Merope Nebula.<\/p>

Capture an image of the famous blue star cluster with our guide on how to photograph the Pleiades<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div>

Credit: bojanstory \/ Getty <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <\/div> <\/div>
Where to find the Merope Nebula<\/strong><\/h2> The Merope Nebula is a reflection nebula<\/a> resulting from the cluster stars passing through dust clouds as they move within our Galaxy.<\/p>
The nebula<\/a> is relatively straightforward to record using long-exposure photography, but is challenging to see visually.<\/p>
$\"The$
The famous blue glow of the Pleiades. Credit: Harshwardhan Pathak <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
The brightest part is that just to the south of the star Merope (23 Tauri).<\/p>
NGC 1435, as the Merope Nebula is also known, occupies the area west of a bent line of stars known informally as Ally\u2019s braid, Ally being a reference to the brightest Pleiad, Alcyone<\/a> (Eta (\u03b7) Tauri).<\/p>
$\"A$
Alcyone is the brightest star in the Pleiades. Credit: Pete Lawrence <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Observing<\/strong><\/h2>
The Merope Nebula was first identified using a 100mm refractor by the German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel in 1859 and was originally known as Tempel\u2019s Nebula.<\/p>
Although this may give hope for a view through smaller apertures, it\u2019s important to realise that you need very dark skies if using anything under 200mm and even then, the darker the better.<\/p>
It goes without saying that in order to maximise your chances of spotting the nebula, you need to make sure your eyes are properly dark-adapted, keeping them in darkness for at least 20 minutes. \u00a0<\/p>
A mid- to low-power eyepiece works best when observing the Merope Nebula.<\/p>
$\"The$
The Pleiades and the main areas of nebulosity that can be revealed photographically. You\u2019ll find dark skies are essential for our challenge, to see the Merope Nebula visually. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
The sky needs to be clear and mist-free, as do your optics.<\/p>
If it\u2019s a cold night, make sure your eyepiece isn\u2019t misted up, as this can hide it too.<\/p>
Ally\u2019s braid is a useful guide to identifying the position of the Merope Nebula and it can also help confirm its existence too.<\/p>
If you suspect you\u2019ve seen nebulosity, switch your view to the other side of the braid (east side) which is dark without nebulosity.<\/p>
Alternating your view between each side really helps to confirm you have seen something.<\/p>
Use averted vision<\/a> here, the technique of looking slightly to the side of a faint object to place its light onto a more sensitive part of your retina.<\/p>
$\"For$
For an even more demanding challenge, try to spot IC 349 just 30 arcseconds to the south of Merope. Click to expand. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Found the Merope Nebula? Now try this<\/strong><\/h2>
If you catch the misty nebula and get a taste for investigating the region, and have access to a 300mm or larger scope, try for IC 349.<\/p>
Also known as Barnard\u2019s Merope Nebula, this is a 30-arcsecond knot of nebulosity that sits just 30 arcseconds south of Merope.<\/p>
It shines at 13th magnitude, which makes this a really tough challenge.<\/p>
An occulting bar to hide Merope\u2019s light is one method that can help reveal its triangular shape.<\/p>
Have you observed or photographed the Merope Nebula? Let us know by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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By Pete Lawrence Published: Thursday, 07 November 2024 at 08:32 AM Sparkling like diamonds scattered on velvet, the stars of the Pleiades contain the faint Merope Nebula. The Pleiades open cluster is an iconic showpiece of the autumn night sky. Located in Taurus, it\u2019s easily visible to the naked eye and looks resplendent through binoculars. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":65544,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/the-merope-nebula-is-a-beautiful-blue-glow-in-the-naked-eye-pleiades-star-cluster-heres-how-to-see-it.jpg",1689,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/the-merope-nebula-is-a-beautiful-blue-glow-in-the-naked-eye-pleiades-star-cluster-heres-how-to-see-it-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/the-merope-nebula-is-a-beautiful-blue-glow-in-the-naked-eye-pleiades-star-cluster-heres-how-to-see-it-300x192.jpg",300,192,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/the-merope-nebula-is-a-beautiful-blue-glow-in-the-naked-eye-pleiades-star-cluster-heres-how-to-see-it-768x491.jpg",768,491,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/the-merope-nebula-is-a-beautiful-blue-glow-in-the-naked-eye-pleiades-star-cluster-heres-how-to-see-it-1024x655.jpg",800,512,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/the-merope-nebula-is-a-beautiful-blue-glow-in-the-naked-eye-pleiades-star-cluster-heres-how-to-see-it-1536x982.jpg",1536,982,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/the-merope-nebula-is-a-beautiful-blue-glow-in-the-naked-eye-pleiades-star-cluster-heres-how-to-see-it.jpg",1689,1080,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Pete Lawrence Published: Thursday, 07 November 2024 at 08:32 AM Sparkling like diamonds scattered on velvet, the stars of the Pleiades contain the faint Merope Nebula. The Pleiades open cluster is an iconic showpiece of the autumn night sky. Located in Taurus, it\u2019s easily visible to the naked eye and looks resplendent through binoculars.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/65543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}