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You know what, I am rather embarrassed, I don't think I have ever really consulted the star chart for the cluster.

I suppose they could all have a name and now it seems they all really do.

One of my more bone head posts really. Sorry bout that one.

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Well, don't feel too bad about it because even many professionals get things like this a little wrong now and then. Not too many people know that the nebulosity of the cluster is also named "Tempel's Nebula" (I didn't until I started reading up on the subject not long ago). Short exposure photographs of the Pleiades sometimes only show glare around each stars, but often, the faint fan of the Merope Nebula also appears because it extends far enough away from Merope to stand out from the usual instrumental glare. It certainly is the part of the nebulosity which is most often noticed visually, so its common association with Merope gave it a name from common convention, although again, it isn't exactly an easy target. Clear skies to you.

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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info

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