For my first contribution to World Space Week, I wanted to start with one of the most familiar little groups in the night sky: the Pleiades.
Also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters, they are easy to recognize with the naked eye – but there is much more around those bright stars than you can see at first glance.
I photographed the Pleiades several times during November and December 2025, collecting data both from Emden in Germany and from Kitries in Greece. Altogether, the final image combines 235 minutes of exposure time with the DWARF 3. It’s fascinating to see how the faint reflection nebula surrounding the cluster comes to life with more exposure time.
The name Seven Sisters refers to the brightest members traditionally associated with the cluster, although M45 actually contains many more stars. In the finished image, they seem almost embedded in a much larger landscape of illuminated interstellar dust.
A fitting start to World Space Week, I think – with something that looks small and familiar in the sky, but turns out to be much more complex once you take a closer look.