Of all the constellations, Scorpius the scorpion wins the prize of Looking-Most-Like-The-Thing-You-Are-Named-After. Kinda. Its brightest star is Antares, a red supergiant that’s the 15th brightest star in the night sky. It’s really big - if the Sun was a small coin on a basketball court, Antares would be almost the court’s width. Last night we saw it for the first time through our telescope. Nice. 🏀

#readingaboutastronomymakesyousmarter
#readinghoroscopesdoesnothing

Sources:

1. Watson F. Scorpius. Beginner’s guide to the night sky, ABC Science. Available at: abc.net.au/science/starhunt/tour/virtual (Accessed: November 2021).

2. Johnson D. Meet Antares: The star that is not Mars. Sky & Telescope. Available at: skyandtelescope.org/observing/meet-antares-the-star-that-is-not-mars (Last updated: September 2020; accessed: November 2021).

3. 25 brightest stars in the night sky. NASA Science. Available at: science.nasa.gov/25-brightest-stars-night-sky (Last updated: June 2019; accessed: November 2021).

4. Scorpius constellation. The Nine Planets. Available at: nineplanets.org/scorpius-constellation (Last updated: August 2020; accessed: November 2021).