The constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. If you have a dark sky, look for M4, a globular star cluster, near red star Antares.Scorpius is among the most distinctive of constellations in the zodiac. With a little imagination, you can see its stars tracing the shape of a scorpion. The brilliant red star Antares lies at the Scorpion’s Heart. The constellation has the shape of the letter J, with the curved bottom of the J representing the Scorpion’s curved Tail. There’s even a Stinger, consi...| EarthSky
As the Earth orbits the sun, the sun appears to move against the background stars (red line). The constellations (green) through which the sun passes define the zodiac. Image via Tau’olunga/ Wikipedia.The zodiac, the 12 signs listed in a horoscope, is closely tied to how the Earth moves through the sky. We derive these signs from the constellations that mark out the path that the sun appears to take through the year. You might think that dates in a horoscope correspond to when the sun passe...| EarthSky
The brightest stars to the eye are 1st magnitude, and dimmest stars to the eye are 6th magnitude. How does stellar magnitude work in astronomy?| EarthSky | Updates on your cosmos and world
Some extremely large and hot stars blaze away with the luminosity of a million suns! But other stars look bright only because they're near Earth.| EarthSky | Updates on your cosmos and world
The large yellow shell depicts a light-year; the smaller yellow shell depicts a light-month. Read more about this image at Wikimedia Commons.Help! EarthSky needs your support to continue. Our yearly crowd-funding campaign is going on now. Donate here.| EarthSky
The Scorpion’s Crown consists of 3 stars: Acrab, Dschubba and Fang. They are, along with Antares and many other stars in the upper part of Scorpius, part of the Scorpius-Centaurus Association. Image via Stellarium. Used with permission.Scorpion’s Crown and associates| EarthSky
The constellation Scorpius with the red star Antares at the Scorpion’s Heart. It’s visible in the evenings for the next few months around the June solstice. Chart via EarthSky.Antares is an eye-catching star, shining with a distinctive bright red sparkle on northern summer evenings. And, in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s a red beacon in winter evening skies. This star, also known as Alpha Scorpii, lies about 550 light-years away. It’s the brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Sc...| EarthSky
