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Two lobes of gas and dust expand outward from the center toward the lower left and upper right of the image. The center of each lobe is bright-white ringed by a rose-pink and then a rusty, orang-brown. The nebula is on a black background dotted with stars.
Hubble · Caldwell 69 · NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team

Bug Nebula

Nebula in Scorpius · 3,400 light-years

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TypeNebula
ConstellationScorpius
Right ascension17h 13m 45s
Declination−37° 06′
Object distance3,400 light-years
Apparent magnitude9.6
Apparent size0.7′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter0.7 light-years across
Also known asC69 · NGC 6302 · Butterfly Nebula
Caldwell 69, popularly known as the Bug Nebula, is a nebula (NGC 6302) in Scorpius — a luminous cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It appears as number 69 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 0.7 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 9.6, it shows up in a small backyard telescope.

Although it appears about 0.7′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 0.7 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Bug Nebula

Bug Nebula lies in the constellation Scorpius and is best placed in the evening sky around June. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It is best placed for observers in the southern hemisphere, and sits low for those far north. A small backyard telescope will show it; binoculars may hint at it under dark skies. Note that the listed magnitude is spread across the whole object — diffuse galaxies and nebulae are often harder to see than the number alone suggests, so dark, moonless skies help a great deal.

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Sources

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