Butterfly Cluster (M6, NGC 6405)

Credit: AURA, NOAO, NSF

An open cluster in the constellation Scorpius, 4° northwest of M7 (Ptolemy's Cluter), that contains about 80 stars roughly in the shape of a butterfly. Visible to the naked eye, it was first noted by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654. Its most conspicuous star is an orange giant K star of magnitude 6.2.

visual magnitude	5.3
angular size	25'
diameter	20 light-years
age	about 50 million years
distance	2,000 light-years
position	R.A.17h 40.1m, Dec. -32° 13'

Related categories

• NEBULAE AND STAR CLUSTERS
• MESSIER CATALOGUE

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