This compact ball of ancient stars lies near the head and claws of Scorpius the Scorpion in the south late this evening. | Published: May 28, 2026 M80 in Scorpius is a compact globular that appears as just a fuzzy ball in smaller instruments; it will take larger scopes to begin resolving its stars. Credit: John Myers (Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0) Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full  Sky This Week  column.  May 27: A superb star Today’s target sits near the head and claws of Scorpius the Scorpion, highest in the south shortly after midnight. M80 is a lovely, tightly-packed globular cluster of ancient stars located about 4.5° northwest of Antares, the heart of the Scorpion.  Visible in binoculars or any small scope, M80 glows at magnitude 7.3. It spans just 10’, making it quite compact. Although small instruments will easily pick it up, you’ll see the cluster through them as a bright, small fuzzy ball.…