Scorpius

This article is about the constellation. For other uses, see Scorpius (disambiguation).

Scorpius
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Abbreviation	Sco
Genitive	Scorpii
Symbology	the Scorpion
Right ascension	17 h
Declination	−40°
Area	497 sq. deg. Ranked 33rd
Number of stars (Bayer-Flamsteed)	13
Number of bright stars (magnitude < 3)	{{{numberbrightstars}}}
Number of nearby stars (Distance < 100 ly)	{{{numbernearbystars}}}
Brightest star	{{{brighteststarname}}} (App. magnitude 0.96)
Nearest Star	{{{neareststarname}}} (Distance: {{{stardistance}}})
Meteor showers	Alpha Scorpiids Omega Scorpiids
Bordering constellations	Sagittarius Ophiuchus Libra Lupus Norma Ara Corona Australis
Visible at latitudes between +40° and −90° Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of July

Scorpius (IPA: /ˈskɔːpiəs/, Latin: scorpion, symbol , Unicode ♏) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. In Western astrology it is known as "Scorpio". It lies between Libra to the west and Ophiuchus to the east. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way.

1 Notable features
2 Notable deep sky objects
3 Mythology
- 3.1 Astrology
4 Notable and named stars
5 See also
6 External links
7 Categories

Notable features

Scorpius contains many bright stars, including Antares (α Sco), β¹ Sco (Graffias), δ Sco (Dschubba), θ Sco (Sargas), λ Sco (Shaula), ν Sco (Jabbah), ξ Sco (Grafias), σ Sco (Alniyat), τ Sco (also known as Alniyat) and υ Sco (Lesath).

The star once designated γ Sco (despite being well within the boundaries of Libra) is today known as σ Lib.

λ Sco and υ Sco, two stars at the end of the scorpion's tail that appear very close together, are sometimes referred to as the Cat's Eyes.

Notable deep sky objects

Due to its location on the Milky Way, this constellation contains many deep sky objects such as the open clusters M6 (the Butterfly Cluster) and M7 (the Ptolemy Cluster), and the globular clusters M4 and M80.

Mythology

Scorpio resembles, quite noticeably, a scorpion's tail, and a vague body [1]. According to Greek mythology, it corresponds to the scorpion which was sent by Gaia (or possibly the goddess Hera) to kill the hunter Orion, the scorpion rising out of the ground at the goddess' command to attack. Although the scorpion and Orion appear together in this myth, the constellation of Orion is almost opposite to Scorpius in the night sky. It has been suggested that this was a divine precaution to forestall the heavenly continuation of the feud.

In many versions, however, Apollo sent the scorpion after Orion, having grown jealous of Artemis' attentions to the man. Later, in contrition for killing her friend, Apollo helped Artemis hang Orion's image in the night sky. However, the scorpion was also placed up there, and every time it appears on the horizon, Orion starts to sink into the other side of the sky, still running from the attacker.

Scorpius also appears in one version of the story of Phaethon, the mortal son of Helios, the sun. Phaethon asked to drive the sun-chariot for a day. Phaethon lost control of the chariot. The horses, already out of control, were scared by the great celestial scorpion with its sting raised to strike, and the inexperienced boy lost control of the chariot, as the sun wildly went about the sky (this is said to have formed the constellation Eridanus). Finally, Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt to stop the rampage.

The Chinese included these stars in the Azure Dragon, a powerful but benevolent creature whose rising heralded spring.

In Maori mythology, this constellation can be Maui's magic jawbone (used to fish up the North Island of New Zealand), the front of Tama-rereti's waka (used to ferry the stars into the sky) or one of the posts Tane used to hold Ranginui (the sky-father) in the sky. While three posts (Sirius, Matariki/The pleides and Orion) hold up the top half of Ranginui, only a single post (Scorpius) supports the lower half of his body. It therefore appears bent under the weight.

Astrology

Main article: Scorpio (astrology)

The Western astrological sign Scorpio of the tropical zodiac (October 23 - November 22) differs from the astronomical constellation and the Hindu astrological sign of the sidereal zodiac (November 23 - November 29).

Notable and named stars

BD	F	Names and other designations	Mag.	Ly away	Comments
α	21	Antares, Alpha Scorpii, Cor Scorpii, Qalb al-Aqrab, Vespertilo	1.06	604	< ανταρης [holds] against Ares/Mars < cor scorpii The heart of the scorpion < قلب العقرب Qalb[u] al-'Aqrab The heart of the scorpion < vespertīlio The bat
λ	35	Lambda Scorpii, Shaula	1.62	703	< الشولاء aš-šawlā´ The raised [tail]
θ		Theta Scorpii, Sargas	1.86	272	< Babylonian or Assyrian via archaeologists.
δ	7	Delta Scorpii, Dschubba, Al Jabba, Iclarkrau	2.29	402	< الجبهة al-jabha[h] The forehead < Iklil al-'Aqrab The crown of the scorpion
ε	26	Epsilon Scorpii, Wei	2.29	65.4	< 尾 wei the Tail (of Scorpius)
κ		Kappa Scorpii, Girtab	2.39	464
β^1,2	8	Beta Scorpii, Acrab, Elacrab, Graffias, Grafias, Grassias	2.56	530	name Graffias/Grafias/Grassias was formerly applied to ξ Scorpii < العقرب al-^{c^aqrab} The scorpion
υ	34	Upsilon Scorpii, Lesath, Lesuth	2.70	519	< اللسعة al-las^{c^a[h]} [The] sting
τ	23	Tau Scorpii, Alniyat, Al Niyat	2.82	430	< النياط an-niyāţ The arteries
π	6	Pi Scorpii, Vrischika	2.89	459	< Sanskrit vrischika scorpion
σ	20	Sigma Scorpii, Alniyat, Al Niyat	2.90	735	< النياط an-niyāţ The arteries Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum type variable star
ι¹		Iota-1 Scorpii, Apollyon	2.99	1800	< Απολλυων Apollyon destroyer
μ¹		Mu1 Scorpii, Denebakrab	3.00	822	< dhanab al akrab tail of the scorpion Beta Lyrae type eclipsing binary
G		G Scorpii, Basanismus	3.19	127	< βασανισμος basanismos "painful torment" from a scorpion's sting
η		Eta Scorpii	3.32	71.6
μ²		Mu2 Scorpii	3.56	517
ζ²		Zeta2 Scorpii	3.62	148
ρ	5	Rho Scorpii	3.87	409
ω¹	9	Omega-1 Scorpii, Jabhat al Akrab	3.93	424	< جبهة العقرب jabhat[u] al-^{c^aqrab} [The] forehead of the scorpion
ν	14	Nu Scorpii, Jabbah, Jabah, Lesath	4.00	437	< جبهة jabhah forehead five star system
ξ		Xi Scorpii	4.16	92.5	formerly called Graffias/Grafias/Grassias. This is now applied to β Scorpii six star system
H		H Scorpii	4.18
N		N Scorpii	4.24
Q		Q Scorpii	4.26
ω²	10	Omega-2 Scorpii, Jabhat al Akrab	4.31	265	< جبهة العقرب jabhat[u] al-^{c^aqrab} [The] forehead of the scorpion
ο	19	Omicron Scorpii	4.55	1200
c²	13	13 Scorpii	4.58
A	2	2 Scorpii	4.59	433
b	1	1 Scorpii	4.63	521
i	22	22 Scorpii	4.70
ζ¹		Zeta1 Scorpii	4.73
ι²		Iota-2 Scorpii	4.78	3700
d		d Scorpii	4.80
k		k Scorpii	4.83
	24	24 Scorpii	4.91
ψ	15	Psi Scorpii	4.93	165
χ	17	Chi Scorpii	5.24	439
		HD 147513	5.38	41.96	has a planet
	16	16 Scorpii	5.43
	27	27 Scorpii	5.48
	18	18 Scorpii	5.49	45.7	solar twin
	4	4 Scorpii	5.63
c¹	12	12 Scorpii	5.67
	11	11 Scorpii	5.75
	3	3 Scorpii	5.87	455
	25	25 Scorpii	6.72
		Scorpius X-1	12.2	9000	X-ray binary
		PSR B1620-26		5600	pulsar/white dwarf binary in M4 has a planet
γ		Gamma Scorpii			now designated σ Librae