Antares

Antares is a red supergiant star located in the constellation Scorpius. It is known as the heart of the scorpion.

Antares
Artist impression of Antares A and B
Credit: Sephirohq

Facts About Antares:

  • 16th brightest star in the night sky.
  • A slow variable star.
  • Its radius is 800 times that of the sun.
  • Its radius is about 883 times that of the Sun. If it were placed in the center of our solar system, its surface would be between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
  • Antares has a secondary (companion) star called Antares B, a class B2.5V blue main sequence star.
  • The name Antares comes from an Ancient Greek word meaning "anti-Ares" (anti-Mars).
Classification: Star, Red Supergiant, M1.5Iab-b / B2.5V
Names:  Antares, Alpha Scorpii
Constellation:  Scorpius
Distance:  5.68e+15 km (600 ly)
Magnitude:  0.9600 (app) -5.2800 (abs)
Surface Temperature:  18500 K
TE AWAMUTU SPACE CENTRE
HOME  |  ABOUT  |  BOOKINGS  |  CONTACT  |  FACEBOOK  |  YOUTUBE