The ButterflyCluster (also known as M6 or NGC 6405) is an open cluster in the constellation of Scorpius.
In color photographs of the ButterflyCluster this orange star contrasts sharply with its blue neighbours in the cluster.
Estimates of the cluster's distance have varied over the years with a mean value of around 1,600 light years, giving it a spatial dimension of some 12 light years.
M6 is visible to the naked eye, and about 330 stars have been identified in the cluster.
Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764 who described it as "a cluster of small stars between the bow of Sagittarius and the tail of Scorpius.
It was also described by Robert Burnham as a "...charming group whose arrangement suggests the outline of a butterfly with open wings" - hence its popular name.
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