The Scorpion is among the few constellations in which one can recognize the animal that it is supposed to symbolize. The scorpion with its tall stinger can be seen in its full glory only from southern latitudes \u2013 in northern latitudes large parts of his body remain below the horizon or at least in the horizon haze.<\/p>\n
Under optimal conditions, the 6.5m<\/sup> bright M 4<\/em><\/strong> is visible even with the naked eye. The globular cluster has a diameter of about 10 arc minutes and is easy to find if you go 1.3\u00b0 to the west of Antares. It forms a flat triangle with Antares and \u03c1 Scorpii. In a 7\u2009\u00d7\u200950 you can see a chain of stars running through its center, and at 15x magnification the first single stars can be seen in a binocular. M\u20094 is only 7,000 light-years away and one of the nearest globular clusters. Its diameter is about 40 light-years.<\/p>\n You need an excellent view of the horizon or an observation location in the south to see the two open clusters M\u20096 and M\u20097<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 then they are a pretty pair that still fits into the field of view of binoculars.<\/p>\n The 4.0m<\/sup> bright Butterfly cluster M 6<\/strong><\/em> is 20 arcmin in diameter and shows \u201ewings\u201c that emanate from a more dense \u201ebody\u201c. It is about 1,500 light-years away from the Sun, between our spiral arm and the Sagittarius-Carina arm of our galaxy.<\/p>\n M 7<\/em><\/strong> can be found 3.5\u00b0 southeast of M\u20096. Despite its brightness of 3.0m<\/sup>, it can be even more difficult to see because of the haze at the horizon. It has a diameter of 1.3\u00b0 and is located in a spectacular star field that belongs to the central bulge of our galaxy. About one third of its 80 stars are bright enough to be visible in binoculars. M\u20097 is the southernmost Messier object and is 850 light-years away from us.<\/p>\n M 80<\/strong><\/em> lies in a rich star field in the far north of the Scorpion, halfway between Antares and \u03b2 Scorpii. The 26,000 light-years distant globular cluster appears in smaller binoculars as a 5 arcmin large, round patch of light. It resembles a bright, small comet. M\u200980 is one of the few globular clusters in which a nova was observed \u2013 on May 21st, 1860, T Scorpii shortly reached 6.8m<\/sup>, today its brightness is constant again at 12.0m<\/sup>.<\/p>\n To the west, between M80 and \u03c1 Ophiuchi, is a vast dark cloud that William Herschel described as a \u201ehole in the sky\u201c.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Scorpion is among the few constellations in which one can recognize the animal that it is supposed to symbolize. The scorpion with its tall stinger can be seen in its full glory only from southern latitudes \u2013 in northern latitudes large parts of his body remain below the horizon or at least in the … Scorpio<\/span> weiterlesen