June 18, 1996
The light from the farthest visible stars set out on its journey long before your first birthday.
Seven Sisters Versus California
Birthday · June 18, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published June 18, 1996. Credit: Dominique Dierick and Dirk De la Marche. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
In the lower left corner, dressed in blue, is the Pleiades. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades is one of the brightest and most easily visible open clusters on the sky. The Pleiades contains over 3000 stars, is about 400 light years away, and only 13 light years across. Surrounding the stars is a spectacular blue reflection nebula made of fine dust. A common legend is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named. In the upper right corner, dressed in red, the California Nebula. Named for its shape, the California Nebula is much dimmer and hence harder to see than the Pleiades. Also known as NGC 1499, this mass of red glowing hydrogen gas is about 1500 light years away.
Image credit: Dominique Dierick and Dirk De la Marche