The Pleiades is an asterism of an open star cluster containing young B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation
Taurus. At a distance of about 444 light-years, it is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and the nearest Messier
object to Earth, being the most obvious star cluster to the naked eye in the night sky. It contains the reflection
nebulae NGC 1432, an HII region, and NGC 1435, known as the Merope Nebula. Around 2330 BC the Pleiades marked the
vernal point. Due to the brightness of its stars, the Pleiades is viewable from most areas on Earth, even in locations
with significant light pollution.1