Scorpius (The Scorpion)

Scorpuis is a beautiful constellation of southern hemisphere with the exact form of a Scorpion fit between parallels 10° and 45°. It is observable in northern hemisphere from April to September and in the southern hemisphere in Autumn, Winter and Spring. Its shape is easy to identify. We can highlight the star Antares, which is also known as the heart of the scorpion, the brightest and the redder star of the constellation.

It limits to the north with Ophiuchus, to the east with Libra and Lupus, to the south with Ara and Norma, and to the west with Corona Australis, Sagittarius and again Ophiuchus.

The myth of Scorpio comes from an old Greek legend related to the attempted rape of Artemis (the Moon) by the giant Orion.

In the legend it is said that Artemis fell at the feet of his father (Zeus) and, hugging his knees, asked for a short tunic, a jacket shoes, a quiver of arrows and a bow; just as his brother, Apollo, had. In classical mythology, Artemis is the goddess of hunting and forest and is symbolized by a bear.

Orion was a giant, famous because of its beauty and strength, the son of the Earth and Poseidon. His stature allowed him to walk on the sea floor keeping his head over the water. They say that one day, Artemis was hunting when Orion appeared. He saw her young and beautiful and tried to seduce her –it is said that the giant tried to rape her. But Artemis was a caste divinity to defend herself from Orion, she requested the help of a scorpion. This deadly scorpion, stung the giant and released her.

To reward the scorpion, the goddess placed it in the sky, just on the opposite side of the constellation of Orion.

Other objects

           M 4, a spectacular globular cluster located to less of 1º of arc of Antares and very easy to identify. Its magnitude is of 5.90, is located 6,800 light years away from Earth, it has an angular diameter of 26', therefore, it is enormous compared with other globular clusters.

            M 80, a precious globular cluster located at the north of the constellation, its magnitude is 7.2 and it has 8,9' of angular diameter, it’s located 26,000 light years away from Earth.

           M 7, a cluster located at the south of the constellation, closely together of Sagittarius, of magnitude 3.3 formed by more than 80 stars. It has 80' arc of angular diameter, it’s located 780 light years away from Earth. It has a considered age of 220 million years.

           M 6, a cluster located in the southwest of the constellation near M7 and next to Sagittarius, of magnitude 4.2 and angular diameter of 14' of arc, is 2,000 light years away from Earth. It has a considered age of 51 million years.