One of the zodiac constellations, Scorpius, is situated in the southern celestial hemisphere. The 48 constellations named by the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in the second century included Scorpius. Scorpius is its ancient astrological emblem. (♏︎). It is a long-established constellation that existed before the Greeks. Between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east is where it is located. It is a sizable constellation situated close to the Milky Way's centre in the southern hemisphere.
This constellation was known as the "Scorpion" by the Babylonians; the signs directly translate to "the (thing with) a scorching sting." (Woolfolk 2011) The constellation of Libra is sometimes referred to as the Scorpion's claws in older descriptions. In both Babylonian and Greek, Libra was referred to as the Scorpion's Claws (zibānītu; (compare Arabic zubānā) Greek (χηλαι). |
Mythology
Numerous myths connected to Scorpio in Greek mythology ascribe it to Orion. One story has Orion boasting that he will exterminate every animal on Earth to the goddess Artemis and her mother Leto. Orion was killed by a scorpion that Artemis and Leto sent. As a warning to mortals to temper their inordinate pride, Zeus elevated both of the combatants to the sky after becoming aware of their conflict. In a different interpretation of the story, Apollo, Artemis' twin brother, was the one who ordered the scorpion to murder Orion after the hunter won the goddess' approval by acknowledging that she was superior to him. Orion hunts every winter but flees every summer when the scorpion appears after Zeus raised the scorpion and Orion to the sky. Both times, Artemis begged Zeus to resurrect Orion. The celestial scorpion met Phaethon when he was operating his father Helios' Sun Chariot in a Greek story without Orion. |
Deep-sky Objects
Main stars - 18
Bayer stars - 47
Stars with planets - 14
Stars brighter than Magnitude 3.00 - 13
Stars within 32 Ly - 3
Messier objects - 4
Meteor showers
Bordering
constellations
- Messier 4 (M4) – Globular Cluster
- Messier 6 (M6) – Open Cluster
- Messier 7 (M7) – Open Cluster
- Messier 80 (M80) – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6231 – Open Cluster
- NGC 6302 – Bipolar Planetary Nebula
- NGC 6334 – Emission Nebula
Main stars - 18
Bayer stars - 47
Stars with planets - 14
Stars brighter than Magnitude 3.00 - 13
Stars within 32 Ly - 3
Messier objects - 4
Meteor showers
- Alpha Scorpiids
- Omega Scorpiids
Bordering
constellations
- Sagittarius
- Ophiuchus
- Libra
- Lupus
- Norma
- Ara
- Corona Australis