Constellation Data

Name: SCORPIUS Translation: Scorpion Abbreviation: Sco Genitive: Scorpii Size: 33 Regions: Zodiac RA: 17 hours Decl: -25 degrees Season: Summer Midnight Culmination: June 3 Pages where SCORPIUS is discussed in Chet Raymo's 365 Starry Nights: 106-107,118

What is the Genitive form? What is Right Ascension (RA)? Is this constellation ever visible from my latitude? What is Declination? Where should I look for a constellation on a date before or after its midnight culmination? What is Midnight Culmination?

Skylore

Gaia sent Scorpius to kill Orion; now they circle on opposite sides of the sky. Reddish heart Antares, can rival Mars. Lost its claws to Libra in Roman times, when the vernal equinox was located in Libra. Fish-hook to Polynesians.

Description

East of Virgo along the ecliptic the constellation Scorpius creeps above the treetops, with his menacing tail below, and stinger above.

The Romans cut off the scorpion's claws to make the constellation Libra the Balance.

Continue eastward along the ecliptic to the next constellation, Sagittarius the Archer.

Legend: In the constellation chart above...
• Star colors represent their spectral types (even for double stars).
• Bright star labels are yellow; significant other stars are labelled in magenta.
• The size of each star indicates its relative magnitude.
• Constellation names are light blue.
• Grid lines represent either 10 degree intervals of declination above or below the equator, or intervals of one hour (=15 degrees) of right ascension (measured along the equator).
• Messier object numbers are pink.
• Galaxies are ovals: blue if spiral, yellow if elliptical, light blue if irregular.
• Globular clusters are gold starbursts.
• Open clusters are dotted white circles.
• Planetary nebula are green diamonds.
• Bright nebula are magenta squares.
• Dark nebula are grey rectangles.
• Green x's are x-ray sources.
• Purple O's with a diagonal slash through them are quasars.

Asterisms

Fish Hook

What is an Asterism?

Star Clusters

M4 (Globular cluster), mag. 6.5.

M6 (Galactic cluster), mag. 5.5.

M7 (Galactic cluster), mag. 3.3.

M80 (Globular cluster), mag. 7.5.

What are Star Clusters?

Discussed in these Shows

• Starstruck Tonight

©1997 Welcome to the Basic Celestial Phenomena web site. To provide explanations of basic observational astronomy to students, teachers, families, and visitors to planetariums these pages have been written by an ex-OBU Planetarium Director, Kerry Magruder; the OBU Natural Sciences Coordinator, Mike Keas; and some of the students who work in the OBU planetarium.

The source for the logo is not a medieval woodcut!

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