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Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae / M6

Butterfly Cluster (M6) Observation Details

M6

M6 Daily Motion

M6 will not be observable tonight. It will reach its transit at 18° by 12:09 and set at 16:00. Throughout the night, from 23:58 to 06:46, it will be below the horizon. M6 will rise again after sunrise, at 08:13.
M6 will be visible until January, 1, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.

M6 Visibility Timetable on December 22

Rise and Set Timetable

TimeElevation
M6 transit12:0918°
M6 set16:00
Astrosession begin18:48-27°
Moon Rise, 57% illuminated23:50-82°
Astrosession end06:13-19°
M6 rise08:13
Moon Set12:2418°

Track M6 Position Throughout the Night

← Sun, 22 December 2024 →

Elevation (degrees)
Time
Altitude
Azimuth
Shift the map to change the time and observe M6 changing position in the night sky.

M6 - Butterfly Cluster

The Butterfly Cluster (M6) is an open cluster located in the constellation Scorpius. It was first recorded by Giovanni Battista Hodierna before 1654 and later included in Messier's catalog in 1764. The cluster's arrangement of stars is said to resemble the shape of a butterfly.

M6 spans about 12 light-years across and contains around 80 stars. The cluster is approximately 1,600 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 4.2, making it visible to the naked eye under dark skies and easily seen with binoculars or a small telescope.

M6 Image Gallery

DSS Blue

M6 photo taken with blue filter
These images are valuable for highlighting the presence of younger, hotter stars, which emit more light in the blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

M6 photo taken with red filter
These images are excellent for detecting older, cooler stars, as well as emission nebulae, which glow primarily in the red due to hydrogen alpha emissions.

DSS Near-Infrared

M6 photo taken with Near-Infrared filter
These images can penetrate dust clouds that obscure visible light, revealing structures and objects hidden within.

DSS Composite image

M6 color image
DSS Color images are composite images created by combining the blue, red, and often near-infrared images to produce a full-color representation.

The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).

Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.

Finder Chart for M6

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Object nameM6
Field of view
Limiting magnitude
M6 coordinates17.67243, -32.25417
Center coordinates17.67243, -32.25417

M6 Passage Through Night

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Current position of M6

Time23:58
Latitude39.9625
Longitude-83.0061
M6 elevation-82°
M6 Azimuth14°
Here you can see the current position of the M6 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M6's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.

Annual motion of M6

Time
DateMon, 23 December 2024
Twighlight start18:48
Twighlight end06:11
Twighlight duration11h 23m
Rise08:13
Set15:57
Elevation at transit18°
Transit time12:05
Equatorial coordinateRA: 17h 40m 20s", Dec: -32° 15' 15s
Magnitude4
ConstellationScorpius
The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M6, providing a comprehensive overview of its daily appearances and transit times throughout the year.
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M6 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.

Data Credits

The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.

For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.