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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:46  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 21:07 south
wb_twilight  • Astronomical Twilight • What's Visible Now

In Evidence

Best Places to See the 2024 American Eclipse Based on Historical Weather Data
Using historical cloud coverage data we suggest the locations that could provide the better chances to have clear skies on April 8, 2024 to observe the eclipse. Read more...

Other deep sky objects in Scorpius
All Constellations »  Scorpius »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius

Messier 6 is a Open Cluster in the Scorpius constellation. Messier 6 is situated south of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere.

Messier 6
Open Cluster
Scorpius
  • Messier 6 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt. Its current altitude is 6° above the horizon. See also rise and set times.
  • Given its visual magnitude of 4.2, Messier 6 is barely visible to the naked eye, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.
Available Resources for Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius

Photometric information of Messier 6

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 6 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).

4.48
4.2

For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.

Apparent size of Messier 6

The following table reports Messier 6 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 6 is a visual representation of it.
15.6 arcmin
15.6 arcmin

Digitized Sky Survey image of Messier 6

The image below is a photograph of Messier 6 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.52x0.52 degrees (31.2x31.2 arcmins).

Image of Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius star
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DSS2 image of Messier 6 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (15.6 arcmin) and minor (15.6 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 6

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 6 are provided in the following table:

17h 40m 20s
-32° 15’ 15”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 6 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.

Finder chart Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius.

Finder chart Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius.

Rise ans set times of Messier 6 from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 122.3°
Max altitude: 6.3°
Azimuth: 237.7°
Messier 6 (Butterfly Cluster) - Open Cluster in Scorpius is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom