The constellation of Scorpius, the Scorpion. Scorpius is one of the twelve zodiacal constellations, lying between Sagittarius and Libra. It is an impo

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The constellation of Scorpius, the Scorpion. Scorpius is one of the twelve zodiacal constellations, lying between Sagittarius and Libra. It is an important summer constellation for northern hemisphere observers, containing many bright stars, and the star clouds, nebulae and dust lanes of the Milky Way. The brightest star in the constellation (centre of image) is the red giant Antares, which lies about 520 light years away. It has a diameter 700 times that of the Sun, and is around 9,000 times as bright. Scorpius was originally a larger constellation, Scorpio cum Chelae (scorpion with claws), but the stars of the claws were transferred to Libra in Roman times. See \Observing the Constellations\", page 152."

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Keywords: antares, astronomy, constellat, constellation, cosmology, giant, hemisphere, northern, red, science, scorpius, star, stars, stellar, zodiac