A bright, reddish, 0.9 mag star lies at the heart of the scorpion. The ancient Greeks liken it as the rival of mars for it's striking red appearance.
Object2: Akrab (Beta Scorpii)
Moving up to the left pincer of the scorpion, is this beautiful 2.5 mag double. The companion is located NNE of the main star and shine at 4.8 mag. This pair being 14 arc seconds away can be glimpsed through binoculars.
Object3: Grafias (Zeta Scorpii)
Optical binary. Not physical related. The 3.8 mag have a slightly dimmer companion. Being 7 arc seconds away, easily seen through binoculars.
Object4: Mu scorpii
A nice and wide pair. Being 6 arc minutes away easily seen using the naked eyes.
Object5,6: M6 and M7
Two wonderful open clusters, bright and large, close to one another, easily seen through the binoculars. M6, popularly known as butterfly cluster, about 60 stars can be seen while M7, a loose sprinle of 25 stars, is brighter of the two. Employ low powers to capture the entire beauty of tis celestial gems.
Object7,8: NGC 6231, NGC6242
These two open clusters are huge and bright. Easily seen clusters left out by comet hunter Messier, 6231 has about 20 stars seen and numerous fainter ones covering the size of half full moon. 6242 is smaller and less brilliant. Use low power too on them.
Object9,10: M4, M80
Two globular cluster, 6.7 and 7.4 mag respectively. Appears as fuzzy balls with M80 being slightlt brighter. These two clusters can be seen on darker sites due to low surface brigthness.
The scorpion being near the milky way beholds many more celestial wonders awaiting to be seen. Before leaving tis region, do remember to use binoculars or low magnifications to sieve out those celestial fuzzies. :idea:
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