Hyades star cluster
Hyades star cluster
The Hyades star cluster is the nearest open star cluster to the Solar System at approximately 150 light years from Earth (in the constellation of Taurus). Gaia not only observes the brightness of the stars (image on the left), but also measures the speed of the stars across the sky (their proper motion). The arrows in the image on the right represent these speeds. The arrows connected to the stars in the Hyades (here coloured yellow to improve contrast) all point in the same direction. This is evidence for astronomers that these stars were formed together from the same protostellar cloud and belong to a common cluster.
