Find it in the sky
A hooked tail with red Antares at its heart; Shaula and Lesath mark the tail’s tip. Low in the south on summer evenings.
Zodiac
Scorpius
Scorpius: red supergiant Antares is its heart.
Best in July, around 9 p.m.No. 33 of the 88 constellations by areaBrightest star Antares (magnitude 1.06)10 stars in this guide
The drawings on these maps are the game’s, and don’t show exact positions in the sky.
Legend
When Orion boasts he will kill every animal, Artemis and Leto send a giant scorpion to kill him. Zeus sets both in the sky, a reminder to mortals to curb their pride.
Sign
23 October to 21 November. In the real sky the Sun crosses Scorpius for only about a week, 23 to 29 November; then until 17 December it is in front of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer.
Its stars
Magnitude says how bright a star looks from here: the smaller the number, the brighter the star.
Acrab
Beta¹ Scorpii
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 470 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.62
- Name
- “The scorpion” (Arabic)
A family of six stars; even a small telescope splits it in two.
Dschubba
Delta Scorpii
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 440 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.32
- Name
- “The scorpion’s forehead” (Arabic)
It suddenly brightened in 2000 and has been rising and falling ever since.
Fang
Pi Scorpii
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 590 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.89
- Name
- “Room” (Chinese; an old lunar mansion)
Two hot stars circle each other every 1.6 days.
Antares
Alpha Scorpii
- Type
- Red supergiant
- Distance
- about 550 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 1.06
- Name
- “Rival of Mars” (Greek)
Its red glow rivals Mars. In the Sun’s place it would reach past Mars’s orbit.
Paikauhale
Tau Scorpii
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 470 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.82
- Name
- “House-to-house wanderer” (Hawaiian)
One of the hottest naked-eye stars; its magnetic field has been mapped.
Larawag
Epsilon Scorpii
- Type
- Orange giant
- Distance
- about 64 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.29
- Name
- From the Wardaman people of Australia
Scorpius’s nearest bright star, an orange giant.
Xamidimura
Mu¹ Scorpii
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 500 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.00
- Name
- “The lion’s two eyes” (Khoekhoe)
Two stars so close they circle in 1.4 days, dimming as one hides the other.
Sargas
Theta Scorpii
- Type
- Yellow-white giant
- Distance
- about 330 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 1.86
- Name
- A name of Sumerian origin
It spins so fast that its equator is a third wider than its poles.
Girtab
Kappa Scorpii
- Type
- Blue giant
- Distance
- about 480 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.39
- Name
- “Scorpion” (Sumerian)
One of the stars on Brazil’s flag, standing for the state of Paraíba.
Shaula
Lambda Scorpii
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 570 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 1.63
- Name
- “The raised tail” (Arabic)
The scorpion’s sting and one of the sky’s brightest stars; a triple system.
Reading isn’t enough
Play two boards in your browser now. No download, no account.
Sources: constellation areas follow the International Astronomical Union (IAU) boundaries; star values come from Wikipedia’s articles, based on Hipparcos and Gaia; the Sun’s dates come from EarthSky. Distances are rounded.