Posted on by Tammy Plotner

Messier 80 – the NGC 6093 Globular Cluster

The globular cluster Messier 80. Credit: NASA/Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/ AURA

Welcome back to Messier Monday! Today, we continue in our tribute to our dear friend, Tammy Plotner, by looking at the globular cluster known as Messier 80!

During the 18th century, famed French astronomer Charles Messier noticed the presence of several “nebulous objects”  while surveying the night sky. Originally mistaking these objects for comets, he began to catalog them so that others would not make the same mistake. Today, the resulting list (known as the Messier Catalog) includes over 100 objects and is one of the most influential catalogs of Deep Space Objects.

One of these objects is Messier 80, a globular star cluster located about 32,600 light years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. This cluster is one of the most densely populated in our galaxy and is located about halfway between the bright stars Antares, Alpha Scorpii, Akrab and Beta Scorpii – making it relatively easy to find.

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Posted on by Tammy Plotner

Messier 6 – The Butterfly Cluster

M6 open cluster (NGC 6405). Credit: Ole Nielsen

Welcome back to Messier Monday! We continue our tribute to our dear friend, Tammy Plotner, by looking at Messier 6, otherwise known as NGC 6405 and the Butterfly Cluster. Enjoy!

In the late 18th century, Charles Messier was busy hunting for comets in the night sky, and noticed several “nebulous” objects. After initially mistaking them for the comets he was seeking, he began to compile a list of these objects so other astronomers would not make the same mistake. Known as the Messier Catalog, this list consists of 100 objects, consisting of distant galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters.

This Catalog would go on to become a major milestone in the history of astronomy, as well as the study of Deep Sky Objects. Among the many famous objects in this catalog is M6 (aka. NGC 6405), an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Scorpius. Because of its vague resemblance to a butterfly, it is known as the Butterfly Cluster.

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