Astronomy Magazine

Antares Star

Posted on the 04 April 2011 by Gabe12logan
Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius and sixteen in glory among all the stars of the night sky (sometimes referred to as fifteen, if the two brighter components of four-Capella counted as one). Along with Aldebaran, Spica, and Regulus it is one of the four brightest stars in the zodiacal belt. In the zodiac Aldebaran is almost the exact opposite of Antares.
Antares is a red binary star, a fiery red and emerald green, near the center of the constellation Scorpius, and is sometimes marked as "heart of Scorpius". It is a red supergiant. The name Antares is translated from Greek as Mars rival or opponent, and with regard to its red color, a name can mean "similar to Mars".
Antares Star
Constellation - Scorpius
Apparent magnitude (V) - +1.09
Distance - 600 ly
Absolute magnitude (MV) - −5.28
Mass - 15.5 solar masses
Radius - 800 * solar radius
Luminosity - 65,000 solar luminosity
Temperature - 3,500 K

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