Editing Scorpius (section)

==Notable features==

===Stars===
{{See also|List of stars in Scorpius}}
[[Image:ScorpiusCC.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|The constellation Scorpius as it can be seen by naked eye (with constellation lines drawn in).]]
Scorpius contains many bright stars, including [[Antares]] (α Sco), "rival of Mars," so named because of its distinct reddish hue; [[Beta Scorpii|β<sup>1</sup> Sco]] (Graffias or Acrab), a triple star; [[Delta Scorpii|δ Sco]] ([[Dschubba]], "the forehead"); [[Theta Scorpii|θ Sco]] ([[Sargas]], of Sumerian origin<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burnham |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJzIt3SIlkUC&pg=PA1676 |title=Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System |date=1978-01-01 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-23673-5 |language=en}}</ref>); [[Nu Scorpii|ν Sco]] (Jabbah); [[Xi Scorpii|ξ Sco]]; [[Pi Scorpii|π Sco]] (Fang); [[Sigma Scorpii|σ Sco]] (Alniyat); and [[Tau Scorpii|τ Sco]] (Paikauhale).

Marking the tip of the scorpion's curved tail are [[Lambda Scorpii|λ Sco]] ([[Shaula]]) and [[Upsilon Scorpii|υ Sco]] (Lesath), whose names both mean "sting."  Given their proximity to one another, λ Sco and υ Sco are sometimes referred to as the Cat's Eyes.<ref>Fred Schaaf (Macmillan 1988) 40 Nights to Knowing the Sky: A Night-by-Night Sky-Watching Primer, p. 79 ({{ISBN|9780805046687}}).</ref>

The constellation's bright stars form a pattern like a [[longshoreman's hook]]. Most of them are massive members of the nearest [[stellar association|OB association]]: [[Scorpius–Centaurus association|Scorpius–Centaurus]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Nearest OB Association: Scorpius–Centaurus (Sco OB2)|author=Preibisch, T.|author2=Mamajek, E.|date=2009|journal=Handbook of Star-Forming Regions|volume=2|pages=0|bibcode=2008hsf2.book..235P|arxiv=0809.0407}}</ref>

The star δ Sco, after having been a stable 2.3 [[apparent magnitude|magnitude]] star, flared in July 2000 to 1.9 in a matter of weeks. It has since become a variable star fluctuating between 2.0 and 1.6.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/3307781.html?page=1&c=y |title=Delta Scorpii Still Showing Off |access-date=2008-06-28 |archive-date=2007-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606165625/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/3307781.html?page=1&c=y |url-status=dead }}</ref> This means that at its brightest it is the second brightest star in Scorpius.

[[File:Scorpius 3D red-green.png|thumb|Stars of the constellation by distance (red-green 3D view) and the brightness of each star (star size)]]

[[U Scorpii]] is the fastest known [[nova]], with a period of about 10 years.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.aavso.org/vstar/vsots/| title = AAVSO: Variable Star of the Season: U Scorpii}}</ref>

[[AH Scorpii]] is a [[red supergiant]] star and [[List of largest stars|one of the largest known stars]], being 1,400 times larger than the Sun. It is also a luminous star, 340,000 times brighter than the Sun,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Arroyo-Torres |first1=B. |last2=Wittkowski |first2=M. |last3=Marcaide |first3=J. M. |last4=Hauschildt |first4=P. H. |date=2013-06-01 |title=The atmospheric structure and fundamental parameters of the red supergiants AH Scorpii, UY Scuti, and KW Sagittarii |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013A&A...554A..76A |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=554 |pages=A76 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201220920 |issn=0004-6361|arxiv=1305.6179 |bibcode=2013A&A...554A..76A }}</ref> altought is too faint to be seen to the naked eye, with a brightness varying from 6.5 to 9.6.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kiss |first1=L. L. |last2=Szabó |first2=Gy. M. |last3=Bedding |first3=T. R. |date=2006-11-01 |title=Variability in red supergiant stars: pulsations, long secondary periods and convection noise |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=372 |issue=4 |pages=1721–1734 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10973.x |doi-access=free |arxiv=astro-ph/0608438 |bibcode=2006MNRAS.372.1721K |issn=0035-8711}}</ref>

The [[Omega Scorpii|close pair]] of stars [[Omega1 Scorpii|ω<sup>1</sup> Scorpii]] and [[Omega2 Scorpii|ω² Scorpii]] are an [[optical double]], which can be resolved by the unaided eye. One is a yellow giant,<ref name=houk1988>{{citation
 | last1=Houk | first1=N. | last2=Smith-Moore | first2=M.
|title=Michigan Catalogue of Two-dimensional Spectral Types for the HD Stars. Declinations -26°.0 to -12°.0
 | volume=4 | year=1988
 | bibcode=1988mcts.book.....H | postscript=. }}</ref> while the other is a blue B-type star in the Scorpius-Centaurus Association.<ref name=Jilinski2006>{{citation
 | display-authors=1
 | last1=Jilinski | first1=E. | last2=Daflon | first2=S.
 | last3=Cunha | first3=K. | last4=de La Reza | first4=R.
 | title=Radial velocity measurements of B stars in the Scorpius-Centaurus association
 | journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics
 | volume=448 | issue=3 |date=March 2006 | pages=1001–1006
 | doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20041614 | bibcode=2006A&A...448.1001J
 | arxiv=astro-ph/0601643 | s2cid=17818058 | postscript=. }}</ref>

The star once designated γ Sco (despite being well within the boundaries of Libra) is today known as [[Sigma Librae|σ Lib]]. Moreover, the entire constellation of [[Libra (constellation)|Libra]] was considered to be claws of Scorpius (''Chelae Scorpionis'') in [[Ancient Greek]] times, with a set of scales held aloft by [[Astraea (mythology)|Astraea]] (represented by adjacent [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]]) being formed from these westernmost stars during later Greek times. The division into Libra was formalised during Ancient Greek or [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dekker |first=Elly |title=Illustrating the phaenomena: celestial cartography in Antiquity and the Middle Ages |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-960969-7 |location=Oxford |pages=61–62 |language=en}}</ref>

===Deep-sky objects===
[[File:Antares overlooking an Auxiliary Telescope.jpg|thumb|left|Scorpius and the [[Milky Way]], with [[Messier 4|M4]] and [[Messier 80|M80]] visible near Antares, [[Messier 6|M6]] and [[Messier 7|M7]] just below centre, [[NGC 6124]] at the top of the frame, and [[NGC 6334]] just above centre.]]
Due to its location straddling the [[Milky Way]], this constellation contains many [[deep-sky object]]s such as the [[open cluster]]s [[Messier 6]] (the [[Butterfly Cluster]]) and [[Messier 7]] (the [[Ptolemy Cluster]]), [[NGC 6231]] (by [[ζ² Sco]]), and the [[globular cluster]]s [[Messier 4]] and [[Messier 80]].

[[Messier 80]] (NGC 6093) is a globular cluster of magnitude 7.3, 33,000 light-years from Earth. It is a compact Shapley class II cluster; the classification indicates that it is highly concentrated and dense at its nucleus. M80 was discovered in 1781 by [[Charles Messier]]. It was the site of a rare discovery in 1860 when [[Arthur von Auwers]] discovered the nova [[T Scorpii]].{{sfn|Levy|2005|pp=166-167}}

[[NGC 6302]], also called the Bug Nebula, is a bipolar planetary nebula. [[NGC 6334]], also known as the Cat's Paw Nebula, is an emission nebula and star-forming region.

[[File:Scorpius 03 May 2022 CherrySpringsStatePark.jpg|thumb|alt=The heart of Scorpius|The heart of Scorpius.  M4 is visible near the left of center.  Portions of the [[Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex]] are illuminated by Antares and the other neighboring stars.]]