Farewell to the celestial arachnid

Our southern summer nights are dominated by Orion. This magnificent constellation rises in the East as the sun sets. According to the Greeks, Orion was a giant whose strength was legendary. The handsome son of Neptune and the nymph Euryale believed he could exterminate all animals on Earth. On hearing this, Gaia, the Earth goddess, sent a deadly scorpion to demonstrate the error of Orion’s ways. Greek astronomers decided to put Orion and the creature which killed him on opposite sides of the sky. That’s why, as Orion rises in the East, Scorpius, the celestial representation of that deadly Scorpion, is setting in the west. With the new moon occurring on Thursday (November 24), this week is a good time to bid a final farewell to the splendid stars of Scorpius before they disappear into the sunset.

If you want to spot the deadly celestial arachnid you need to be out just after sunset. Find a spot with a good view to the southwest. As the sky darkens you should be able to pick out the unmistakable “sting” (which looks like a reversed question mark) low in the Southwestern sky. Antares is the brightest star in Scorpius. This distinctly orange-coloured star sets just before 10.20pm, which will make it a difficult (but not impossible) target in the twilight.

Despite being the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, the star Epsilon is actually the fourth brightest in Scorpius. It appears orange to the naked eye and is just over 63 light years from our solar system.

Sargas marks the highest point in the scorpion’s tail. This yellow-white star is roughly three hundred light years from Earth. The end of the sting is marked by Girtab and Shaula, two distinctly blue stars which are 480 and 570 light years away respectively.

The Scorpion's sting wraps around the dark clouds of dust and gas enveloping the centre of our home galaxy, the milky way. After being hidden by the sun for a few months, this beautiful part of the sky will emerge in the morning sky.