Saturday, July 19, 2025

The Butterfly Star Cluster: Messier 6 in Scorpius

The Butterfly Star Cluster: Messier 6 in Scorpius

Messier 6 (M6) is an open star cluster. A gathering of 100 stars or so, all around 100 million years young, M6 lies about 1,600 light-years away toward the central Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius. Also cataloged as NGC 6405, the pretty star cluster's outline suggests its popular moniker, the Butterfly Cluster. Surrounded by diffuse reddish emission from the region's hydrogen gas the cluster's mostly hot, and therefore, blue stars are near the center of this colorful cosmic snapshot. The brightest cluster member is a cool K-type giant star. Designated BM Scorpii it shines with a yellow-orange hue, seen near the end of one of the butterfly's antennae. This telescopic field of view spans nearly two full Moons on the sky. This is 25 light-years at the estimated distance of Messier 6.


Image Credit & Copyright: Xinran Li
Xinran's website: 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #BMScorpii #Stars #StarClusters #ButterflyCluster #Messier6 #NGC6405 #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #XinranLi #Astrophotographer #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD

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