Most of the brightest stars in the Butterfly open cluster are young blue stars but the brightest is an orange giant with a magnitude varying between 5.5 and 7.

M7 consists of about 80 stars brighter than magnitude 10, the brightest of which is a yellow giant. The age of this cluster is estimated at 220 million years.

The Lagoon Nebula is one of the many sites where new stars are being born from dusty molecular clouds. These important regions are the "space laboratories" where astronomers study how stars are formed. The wealth of data revealed by Hubble, is ever increasing astronomers and other scientists understanding of how stars are formed.

In good conditions, through 10x50 binoculars, the M9 cluster can be glimpsed as a dim small, round nebula. 4-inch telescopes show the central part of M9 as a slightly oval shape fading towards the edges and, in exceptional conditions, the brightest stars can also be seen. A 6-inch telescope clearly shows the brightest stars, whilst an 8-10 inch telescope resolves further stars plus a more compact central area. Larger telescopes from 12-inch upwards fully resolve M9 to the core.

M10 is not visible to the naked eye but, as with other globular clusters, the greater the size of telescope used the more stars are resolved.