Scorpius constellation
Latin Scorpius, genitive Scorpii, abbreviation Sco
North up, east to the left, as you see the sky. The lines are a common figure; the stars are from the catalogue.
The myth
The scorpion that stung the hunter Orion; that is why the two avoid each other in the sky. Its heart is Antares, 'rival of Mars', a red giant so large that, put in place of the sun, it would reach beyond the orbit of Mars. From Europe Scorpius stands low over the southern horizon in early summer; from the southern hemisphere it passes overhead.
When can Scorpius be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in June. It can be seen from everywhere south of 47°N, and it never sets south of 70°S.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antares | α Sco | 0.96 | reddish |
| Shaula | λ Sco | 1.63 | bluish |
| Sargas | θ Sco | 1.87 | yellowish white |
| Larawag | ε Sco | 2.29 | orange |
| Dschubba | δ Sco | 2.32 | bluish |
| Mula | κ Sco | 2.41 | bluish |
| Acrab | β1 Sco | 2.62 | bluish |
| Lesath | υ Sco | 2.69 | bluish |
The smaller the number, the brighter: below 1 are the brightest stars of the sky, 4 is hard to see under a city sky. Greek letters after Johann Bayer (1603).
Constellation and zodiac sign
The constellation Scorpius and the zodiac sign of the same name are not the same. The signs divide the Sun's path into twelve equal parts of 30 degrees, counted from the vernal equinox; the constellations differ in size, and because the Earth's axis slowly wobbles, they now lie almost one sign further on.