M6 - Butterfly Cluster, Graham Conaty
M6 - Butterfly Cluster, Graham Conaty

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Description

Messier 6 (M6), also known as the Butterfly Cluster, is a bright open cluster located in the Southern constellation of Scorpius.

Located at a distance of 1,600 light-years from Earth, its name derives from the vague resemblance of its shape to a butterfly.

Messier 6 is estimated to be around 100 million years old. Most of the bright, visible stars in it are hot, young, blue stars belonging to the spectral class B4-B5. However, the brightest star in the cluster is an orange giant belonging to the spectral class K.

Captured via the use of a remote telescope located at the El Sauce Observatory in the Rio Hurtado Valley in Chile, South America, the final image comprises 8hrs 40mins of broadband data with post-processing carried out using PixInsight, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom.

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