NGC 6231
This cluster is estimated to be about 2–7 million years old, and is approaching the Solar System at 22 km/s. The cluster and association lie in the neighboring Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way. Zeta Scorpii (spectral type O8 and magnitude 4.71.) is the brightest star in the association, and one of the most radiant stars known in the galaxy. NGC 6231 was used to measure the binary fraction of B-type stars: 52 ± 8%, indicating that B-type stars are commonly found in binary systems, but not as commonly as in O-type stars.
NGC 6231 also includes three Wolf-Rayet stars: HD 151932, HD 152270, and HD 152408.
Discovery
The cluster was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654. Hodierna listed it as Luminosae in his catalogue of deep sky observations. This catalogue was included in his book De Admirandis Coeli Characteribuse published in 1654 at Palermo. It was independently observed by other astronomers after Hodierna, including Edmond Halley (1678), Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux (1745–46), and Abbe Lacaille (1751–52).
Common names
The cluster forms the head of the False Comet, a wider collection of stars from Scorpius OB1 running northward from Zeta Scorpii and NGC 6231 roughly halfway toward Mu Scorpii. The tail is formed by two clusters, Collinder 316 and Trumpler 24. Trumpler 24 is surrounded by the emission nebula IC 4628, also known as the Prawn Nebula, where the tail appears to fan out.
The cluster is also sometimes known as The Northern Jewel Box, due to its similar appearance to the NGC 4755, the Jewel Box cluster, which is further south in the sky.
Chinese astronomy
The English astronomer Ian Ridpath has identified NGC 6231 with the Chinese constellation of Shengong (Chinese: 神宮; pinyin: Shéngōng). Other sources, however, identify this constellation with Zeta Scorpii.
Gallery
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Map showing the location of NGC 6231 -
X-ray image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory -
Close-up view from the Hubble Space Telescope
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