M6 - BUTTERFLY CLUSTER

Messier 6, commonly known as the Butterfly Cluster, is a beautiful open cluster in the constellation Scorpius, located approximately 1,600 light-years from Earth. The cluster earns its popular name from the arrangement of its brightest stars, which form a pattern resembling a butterfly with outstretched wings. M6 contains around 80 to 120 stars within a region spanning about 12 light-years across, and it shines at an apparent magnitude of about 4.2, making it easily visible to the naked eye from dark locations as a hazy patch of light. The cluster is estimated to be around 100 million years old, making it relatively young by astronomical standards. Its most prominent member is the orange giant star BM Scorpii, a semiregular variable star that contrasts beautifully with the predominantly blue-white hot stars that make up the rest of the cluster. This color contrast is a highlight for visual observers and astrophotographers alike. M6 was likely known to ancient observers, though it was first formally recorded by Giovanni Battista Hodierna before 1654 and later cataloged by Messier in 1764. The cluster is a wonderful target for binoculars and small telescopes, which reveal the full butterfly pattern along with rich star fields of the Milky Way backdrop. It sits near the tail of Scorpius, close to the similarly bright M7 cluster, and the two make an excellent pair for comparative observation.

Contains 80 to 120 stars spanning approximately 12 light-years, located about 1,600 light-years from Earth with an age of roughly 100 million years.