M6 (NGC 6405) Sco open cluster
Difficulty level 1

Date of observation: 2000/08/05 0:27
Observing site: Kuju
Transparency/seeing/sky darkness: 2/3/2
Instruments: 32cm Dobsonian with WF32 at 50x
Width of field: 1.3 degrees
This is an open cluster near the tail of the Scorpion. It is very large and visible to the naked eye. There is M7 nearby, another bright open cluster. Compared with M7, M6 is a little smaller and fainter, but more concentrated and compact. It is often described as a butterfly and it really looks like one. You can see a widely spread wings, a triangular-shaped head, a narrow body as well as two antennae. I learned of these antennae or feelers in Stephen James O'Meara's Messier Catalogue (Newton Press). There are certainly 2 or 3 stars in lines to form the antennae near the head. Within the body there are lines of faint stars visible. The brightest star at the eastern edge is rather reddish.