Pleiades Star Cluster Could Reveal Factors Affecting Stellar Rotation
The Pleiades star cluster is one of the closest star clusters to Earth and is also the most easily observable one. The stars in this cluster, located roughly 445 light-years away, are all young adults — each about 125 million years old.
Three new studies to be published in the Astronomical Journal have now provided a detailed look into the stars that make up this cluster. The studies, based on data collected by NASA's Kepler space telescope during its K2 mission, aim to understand the complex relationship between the spin rate of stars and their internal structure.