instrideonline.com constellations scorpio

Scorpio “the Scorpion”

The stars of Scorpio have been studied for centuries. Connecting the bright lights in this summertime constellation reveals the stinging tail of the scorpion that was said to have killed Orion the Hunter.

The supergiant, Antares glows brightly near the “heart” of the scorpion. At 550 light years away, Antares is 400 times larger and an unbelievable 57,000 times more luminous than the earth’s sun.

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Scorpio butterfly nebula

The Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302, is a uniquely shaped cloud of colorful stellar dust that formed as a massive star burned out and evolved into a small white dwarf

Scorpio cats paw nebula

NGC 6334, the Cat’s Paw nebula, is over 5,000 light years from earth. The gases within the nebula are burning hot enough to form new stars

Scorpio Butterfly Cluster

The Butterfly Cluster, at a distance of 1500 light years, is made up of hundreds of massive blue-white stars with one contrasting orange giant on its western perimeter

Scorpio Ptolemy Cluster

 The Ptolemy Cluster is so luminous it was identified in 130 BCE by Ptolemy himself. The grouping of 90+ main sequence stars is 200 million years old and over 980 light years in the distance