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Community photo entitled  by Tara Mostofi on 05/03/2021 at Danville, California, USA

On 05/03/2021 09:04 pm by Tara Mostofi| Danville, California, USA

The beautiful Pleiades star cluster (the Seven Sisters) along with the Hyades form the asterism fondly named the Golden Gate of the Ecliptic. As such, planets can be observed on occasion in this region of the sky. Here the Pleiades are shown just after sunset with the somewhat elusive planet Mercury. Mercury was easy to see naked eye. I wasn't sure the sky would be dark enough for the Pleiades, but my camera easily saw it.

Canon EOS Ra on Skywatcher Evostar 72mm OTA (420mm focal length), on Star Adventurer star tracker. Single exposure, ISO 200, f/5.6, 4 sec

Minimal in Photoshop- adjusted white balance and brought up shadows, texture, and clarity