Butterfly Cluster

E472718

The Butterfly Cluster is a bright open star cluster in the constellation Scorpius, noted for its distinctive butterfly-like shape and visibility to the naked eye in dark skies.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Messier object
NGC object
astronomical object
open star cluster
age_Myr approximately 100
alsoKnownAs M6 NERFINISHED
Messier 6 NERFINISHED
NGC 6405 NERFINISHED
angularSize_arcmin 25
apparentMagnitudeRange 4.2–4.5
apparentMagnitudeV 4.2
bestObservedWith binoculars
small telescope
bestSeenIn summer
brightestStar BM Scorpii NERFINISHED
brightestStarApparentMagnitude about 5.5
catalog Messier Catalogue NERFINISHED
New General Catalogue NERFINISHED
cataloguedBy Charles Messier NERFINISHED
clusterType loose open cluster
constellation Scorpius NERFINISHED
contains many B-type stars
red giant stars
declination −32° 13′
declinationEpoch J2000
discovererNationality Italian
discoveryBy Giovanni Battista Hodierna NERFINISHED
discoveryYear before 1654
distanceFromEarth_ly approximately 1600
distanceFromEarth_pc approximately 490
galacticLatitude_deg −3.3
galacticLongitude_deg 330.8
hemisphereVisibility southern celestial hemisphere
locatedIn Milky Way
Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way NERFINISHED
messierNumber 6
metallicity slightly above solar
nearbyConstellationFeature tail of Scorpius
nearbyObject Messier 7 NERFINISHED
ngcNumber 6405
notableFor distinctive butterfly-like appearance in small instruments
notableShape butterfly-like pattern
numberOfStars more than 100
observedIn optical wavelengths
observingRequirement dark skies recommended
rightAscension 17h 40m
rightAscensionEpoch J2000
skyLocationDescription northwest of Shaula (Lambda Scorpii)
visibility visible to the naked eye in dark skies

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Scorpius containsDeepSkyObject Butterfly Cluster