The distance to the Pleiades star cluster as determined by photographic photometry

Abstract

A color magnitude diagram of the Pleiades star cluster was studied. Via main sequence fitting, a distance modulus of 3.1 magnitudes was obtained corresponding to a distance of 41.7 parsecs. Small sample statistics were applied to the data using "student" t-Distribution tables with 50% confidence limits. Main sequence fitting of this resulted in a distance modulus of 3.3 which corresponds to a distance of 45.7 parsecs. The generally accepted value for the distance of the Pleiades is approximately 140 parsecs.