Apod 1.2, M6: The Butterfly Cluster

There is a reason M6 is called the butterfly cluster, this is because of the outline of the open cluster resembles a butterfly. This nebula spans about 20 light years across and  2000 light years distant from us (Earth.) In this cluster there is actually a constellation that we learned in our Astronomy class, it is Scorpius. However you might need a pair of binoculars to see the constellation, as it does get mixed with the hundreds of other stars here. This nebula primarily consists of bright blue stars, although as you can see the brightest is the light-orange colored star. Looking and using today's technology we figured out the age of M6, which is estimated to be about 100 million years old. Using this knowledge it can help us figure out the age of our universe, which could be trillions and trillions years old for all we know.