Hyades and Pleiades with Mars

At left center in this photo is the V-shaped open star cluster called the Hyades, the face of the bull in the constellation Taurus. The bright pink star is the red giant Aldebaran -- the "Eye of the Bull." To the right of the cactus is the Pleiades, a tighter star cluster known as the "Seven Sisters." At top center, just as pink and as bright as Aldebaran, is the planet Mars. The foreground was illuminated by a 2-days-past-full moon.

Date: March 16, 2006
Time: 10:21 p.m. MST
Location: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
Camera: Olympus OM-1 35mm SLR on fixed tripod
Film: Kodak Elite Chrome 400 slide (pushed one stop)
Focal length: 40 mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure time: 20 seconds
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan LS-2000