 
Occasionally The Moon passes in front of a significant
background object, such as a planet like Jupiter or Saturn, or a
bright deep space object such as an Open Cluster. In this case
The Moon occulted (passed in front of) the open cluster known as
Pleiades (also known as The Seven Sisters and Messier 45/M45).
Photographing this event in a way that represents the true
visual appearance of the two together is quite a challenge. The
Moon is considerably brighter than the background cluster of
Pleiades. To achieve the result in the above image requires
several exposures of varying lengths, combined together in one
final image representing how the pair appear through the
eyepiece of a small telescope or binoculars.
In this photograph The Moon is sharp, exhibiting fine detail
of the cratered surface and smooth basins of the Mare (seas).
The stars are pinpoint and the fainter stars vary nicely in
colour.
As with all our photographs, prints of the Pleiades with The
Moon come
signed individually by the photographer and professionally
printed on archival stock.
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