Friday, May 25, 2012

APOD 4.8


M6: Butterfly Cluster (NGC 6405)
The Butterfly Cluster is a Messier object located in the constellation Scorpius.  It is a an open cluster, a relatively young group of stars that were born at the same time.  This cluster is about 1200 light years away from Earth.  Its name comes from its shape, because it looks liked a butterfly to astronomers; however, I don't see the butterfly.  The blue color comes from the stars which are very hot, blue-white stars.  However, the brightest star is an orange, supergiant star called BM Scorpii.  The overall brightness of this cluster is 4.2 magnitude.  It is easiest to see this cluster on a dark night, and I will look for it next time I look up to observe the stars.

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