The Constellation Scorpius, the Scorpion
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Scorpius

Some constellations do not really look like their names. It takes a lot of imagination to picture the stars of Pegasus as a winged horse, for example. But Scorpius really looks like a scorpion! It has a long, curving tail, and snapping claws, just like the real arachnid. The bright star Antares marks the heart of the scorpion.

Did you know that stars are not all the same color? Some are blue, some are yellow, and some are red. Antares is a star that is so red, even your eye can see the difference. Antares is very bright because it is a very big star (300 times as big as our Sun).

It was the scorpion's sting that killed the great hunter, Orion. So these two enemies are placed far apart in the sky, to keep them out of trouble. Orion is a bright constellation of winter, while Scorpius crawls through the night sky in summer.

Last modified January 21, 2010 by Julia Genyuk.

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