Messier 6
E473830
Messier 6, also known as the Butterfly Cluster, is a bright open star cluster in the constellation Scorpius visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Messier 7 | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Messier object
ⓘ
NGC object ⓘ open star cluster ⓘ |
| age |
51–95 million years
ⓘ
~100 million years ⓘ |
| alternativeName |
Butterfly Cluster
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
M6 NERFINISHED ⓘ NGC 6405 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| angularSize | 25 arcminutes ⓘ |
| apparentMagnitudeV | 4.2 ⓘ |
| bestSeenFromHemisphere |
Southern Hemisphere
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
low-latitude Northern Hemisphere ⓘ |
| bestSeenInMonth | July ⓘ |
| brightestStarApparentMagnitude | ~6.0 ⓘ |
| brightestStarSpectralType | B4 ⓘ |
| cataloguedBy | Charles Messier NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| catalogueDesignation | C 1737-325 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contains |
B-type main-sequence stars
ⓘ
giant stars ⓘ |
| containsVariableStars | true ⓘ |
| declination | −32° 13′ ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | Giovanni Battista Hodierna NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discoveryDate | before 1654 ⓘ |
| discoveryMethod | telescopic observation ⓘ |
| distanceFromEarth |
1600 light-years
ⓘ
~490 parsecs ⓘ |
| galacticLatitude | −0.6° ⓘ |
| galacticLongitude | −0.2° ⓘ |
| hasColor |
blue
ⓘ
yellow ⓘ |
| hasShapeAppearance | butterfly-like ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Milky Way
ⓘ
Sagittarius Arm NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedInConstellation | Scorpius NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedInRegionOfSky | tail of Scorpius ⓘ |
| locatedNearOnSky | Messier 7 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| messierNumber | 6 ⓘ |
| ngcNumber | 6405 ⓘ |
| numberOfStars |
80
ⓘ
>80 ⓘ |
| observationalClass | III 2 m ⓘ |
| observedInWavelength | optical ⓘ |
| partOf |
Messier catalogue
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
New General Catalogue NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| rightAscension | 17h 40m ⓘ |
| visibleFromLatitude | up to +55° ⓘ |
| visibleToNakedEye | true ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Messier 7