The Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, is one of the brightest star clusters visible in the northern hemisphere. It consists of many bright, hot, young stars that were all formed at the same time around 100 million years ago within a large cloud of interstellar dust and gas. The cluster contains hundreds of stars, of which only a handful are commonly visible to the unaided eye. The blue haze that accompanies them is due to very fine dust which still remains and preferentially reflects the blue light from the stars. This star cluster lie some 425 light years away in the constellation of Taurus. The defraction spikes are caused by the telescope and maybe either distracting or provide aesthetic enhancement, depending on your point of view.

This image consists of 5 x 5 minute exposures @ ISO 1600 taken with a Canon 40D and Stellarview 102mm ED refractor at f/ 5.6. Images captured in Nebulosity, aligned and stacked. Colour balance and Digital Development in Images Plus. Final Levels and Curves in Photoshop.