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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Stuart Clark

Starwatch: Identifying the Scorpion, mythical adversary of Orion

Graphic showing the constellation
The red-orange star Antares marks the heart of Scorpius. Illustration: Guardian Design

This week we will take the opportunity to identify Scorpius, the Scorpion, one of the famous zodiacal constellations.

In mythology, Scorpius is the creature sent to kill Orion, the hunter. The two constellations are therefore on opposite sides of the sky from one another, so that when Scorpius rises, Orion has already departed.

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