Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 July 19
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                                  Messier 6
                  Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Xinran Li

   Explanation: The sixth object in [5]Charles Messier's famous catalog of
   things which are not comets, Messier 6 is a galactic or [6]open star
   cluster. A gathering of 100 stars or so, all around 100 million years
   young, M6 lies some 1,600 light-years away toward the central Milky Way
   [7]in the constellation Scorpius. Also cataloged as NGC 6405, the
   pretty star cluster's outline suggests its popular moniker, the
   [8]Butterfly Cluster. Surrounded by diffuse reddish emission from the
   region's hydrogen gas the cluster's mostly hot and [9]therefore blue
   stars are near the center of this colorful cosmic snapshot. But the
   brightest cluster member is a cool K-type giant star. Designated [10]BM
   Scorpii it shines with a yellow-orange hue, seen near the end of one of
   the butterfly's antennae. [11]This telescopic field of view spans
   nearly 2 Full Moons on the sky. That's 25 light-years at the estimated
   distance of Messier 6.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [27]Specific rights apply.
            [28]NASA Web Privacy, [29]Accessibility, [30]Notices;
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC,
                         [34]NASA Science Activation
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2507/M6.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://app.astrobin.com/u/Flying_Dutchman#gallery
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/people/explore-the-night-sky-hubbleatms-messier-catalog-bio/
   6. https://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/m6-and-m7-deep-sky-gems-by-scorpius-tail/
   7. https://science.nasa.gov/image-detail/skychart-scorpiusm6m7-july-2024/
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_Cluster
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110211.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BM_Scorpii
  11. https://app.astrobin.com/i/7472xp
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250718.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250719
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250720.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/