Twins

Twin columns of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. are highlighted by the reflected light from the Pleiades star Merope.

The starlight reflects off dense clouds of gas and dust, enabeling astronomers to study the behavior of dust and debris lying between great stars. This exceptionally bright phenomenon was discovered in 1890 by American astronomer E. E. Barnard and is cataloged as IC 349, or Barnard's Merope Nebula. (PRC2000-36: NASA, The Hubble Heritage Team, STScI/AURA)

The National Portrait Gallery preserves 15,000 paintings, photographs, sculptures, engravings and drawings of  those men and women who have made significant contributions to the history and culture of the nation. Most art works were made from live sittings and are original works. These twin columns are part of the pedimented Doric porticos of the building that once served as the U.S. Patent Office.

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