Over the South this month and in-between the constellations of Centaurus and Sagittarius is the constellation of Scorpius, named after the Scorpion in Greek Mythology that was sent after and killed Orion. As such, the constellations are practically at opposite ends of the celestial sphere, and are unlikely to be visible at the same time. Scorpius, lying along the galactic plane and being near the galactic centre (which is in the direction of Sagittarius), is not only a bright constellation in its own right but also home to many a deep sky object.
From Antares, one can extend a line to π Scorpii and find the moon-sized fairly bright globular cluster M4 in between the two stars. Next, one can draw a line through Antares from ε Scorpii to find the reflection nebula IC 4592, the Blue Horsehead Nebula.
Moving down the Scorpion, one can find NGC 6231, also known as the Northern Jewel Box, in-between the twin visual binaries of μ Scorpii and ζ Scorpii, one of the components of the False Comet with its adjacent cluster NGC 6242.
From μ Scorpii, one can find NGC 6250, a young open cluster, by extending a line beyond ζ Scorpii. Next, by heading in the direction of Lesath, one can find NGC 6281, an open cluster with faint nebulosity and the brightest nebulous object to not be included in both the Messier and Caldwell catalogues.
Further down along the Scorpion, from ζ Scorpii, one can find NGC 6124, a fairly bright open cluster with ~125 visible stars by drawing a line from η Scorpii and through ζ Scorpii.
From η Scorpii, one can find NGC 4616 and M6, the Butterfly Cluster, beside it, by extending a line beyond Lesath. NGC 6322, a small open cluster can then be found when heading towards Sargas from η Scorpii.
Penultimately, one can also find M7, the Ptolemy Cluster, by drawing a line to G Scorpii from Sargas. Lastly, by drawing a line through Shaula, one can find the open cluster NGC 6374 and beside it, the open cluster NGC 6383.
Find out more about this month's night sky with the following handy resource:
www.SkyMaps.com
