Moon close to Antares
The moon makes a detailed pairing with Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius the Scorpion, on January 18, 2023. Earlier than it does, it passes by the Crown of Scorpius on January 17. The Crown of Scorpius consists of three stars that mark the pinnacle of Scorpius the Scorpion.
Scorpius the Scorpion is likely one of the best constellations to see within the sky. That’s as a result of it resembles a big fishhook or J-shaped determine.
Because the view of the celebs, moon and planets varies by your place on the globe, we advise you attempt Stellarium for a exact star chart in your location.
Antares is an enormous and funky star
Indubitably, Antares is an enormous star – a purple supergiant – within the ultimate phases of its life. And it’s comparatively cool, with a low floor temperature. Its floor temperature is about 6,100 levels F (3,400 levels C). That’s in distinction to our sun’s floor temperature of about 10,000 levels F (5,800 levels C).
But the star seems very shiny to us. That’s as a result of Antares is a really monumental star. Its floor space – the floor from which gentle can escape this star – is gigantic. In the event you may place our sun and Antares aspect by aspect, you’d discover Antares greater than 10,000 occasions brighter than our sun. Plus it’s over 700 occasions the sun’s diameter!
Stars within the Crown of Scorpius
The Crown of the Scorpion or Scorpion’s Head is a barely curved arc of three stars: Acrab, Dschubba, and Fang.
By the way, the higher a part of the Scorpion – Antares on the Coronary heart, and the three stars on the Crown – are all a part of a gaggle of younger stars generally known as the Scorpius–Centaurus Association. So these stars have been possible born collectively from a single cloud of fuel and dust in space. And so they nonetheless transfer by space as a loosely related group of stars.
Backside line: Search for a waning crescent moon close to Antares in Scorpius on the mornings of January 17 and 18, 2023. Additionally, the moon is close to the Crown of Scorpius.
For more great observing events in the coming weeks, visit EarthSky’s night sky guide
