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M31 is the famous Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large neighbor galaxy [about 2.9 million light-years away], forming the Local Group of galaxies together with its companions (including M32 and M110, two bright dwarf elliptical galaxies) It is also another of my favorites. In fact, I remember reading somewhere that M31 was actually on a collision course with the Milky Way!

With a magnitude of 1.6 the Pleiades are among those objects which are known since the earliest times. At least 6 member stars are visible to the naked eye, while under moderate conditions this number increases to 9. According to some, the earliest known reference of this cluster is a mention by Hesiod, about 1000 BC (according to Burnham, they were seen in connection to the agricultural seasons of that time). Homer mentions them in his Odyssee, and the Bible has three references to the Pleiades. The Pleiades also carry the name "Seven Sisters". Their Japanese name is "Subaru", which was taken to christen the car of same name.

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