Crown of the Scorpion Asterism Is Visible During Northern Summers

Summary: The Crown of the Scorpion asterism is visible during northern summers as Scorpius the Scorpion rises above the horizon in mid-northern latitudes.

kite-shaped figure fans upward from Antares, heart of Scorpius the Scorpion constellation, to frame three star Crown of the Scorpion asterism: Till Credner, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

The three star Crown of the Scorpion asterism is visible during northern summers as Scorpius the Scorpion, primarily a Southern Hemisphere constellation, rises above the horizon in mid-northern latitudes.

As the southernmost zodiacal constellation, Scorpius the Scorpion resides west of Libra the Weighing Scales constellation and east of Sagittarius the Archer constellation upon the inside surface of the imaginary, Earth-centered celestial sphere. Zodiacal constellations lie along the ecliptic plane, which, from Earth’s perspective, maps the sun’s apparent path across the sky.

Scorpius the Scorpion stretches across the hazy, starry stream near the center of the Milky Way, the galaxy encompassing the solar system. At mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way and the predatory arachnid’s constellation appear above the horizon toward the south-southwest.

As first emergent, the three star Crown of the Scorpion asterism announces the presence of the j-shaped constellation in northern summers. The coronal asterism’s three stars precede the appearance of red supergiant Antares (Alpha Scorpii; α Scorpii; Alpha Sco; α Sco), brightest star in Scorpius and night’s 15th brightest star.

Graffias (Beta Scorpii; β Scorpii; Beta Sco; β Sco) marks the northernmost point of Crown of the Scorpion asterism. The multiple star system rates as the night sky’s 97th brightest star, according to British astrophysicist Richard Powell’s Hipparcos (High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite) Catalogue-based list of the 300 brightest stars.

Beta Scorpii’s traditional name of Graffias is interpreted as meaning “claws” but claims an uncertain origin. Amateur astronomer and star lore enthusiast Richard Hinckley Allen suggests a derivation from Ancient Greek (γραψαῖος, grapsaios, "crab"), based upon the ancient belief, expressed, for example, by notable Roman naturalist Gaius Plinius Secundus “Pliny the Elder” (23-Aug. 25, 79 CE), that dead crabs naturally regenerate as scorpions.

Lying south of Graffias, Delta Scorpii (δ Scorpii; Delta Sco; δ Sco) occupies the middle position in the trio of stars forming Crown of the Scorpion asterism. The multiple star system rates as nighttime’s 76th brightest star on British astrophysicist Richard Powell’s Hipparcos Catalogue-based star list. Delta Scorpii’s traditional name of Dschubba derives from Arabic (al-jabhah, “forehead”).

Lying south of Dschubba, Pi Scorpii (π Sco; π Scorpii) marks the southernmost point of Crown of the Scorpion asterism. Faintest of the trio, Pi Scorpii places as nighttime’s 154th brightest star on Richard Powell’s bright star list. The multiple star system mainly is known by its Bayer designation, the system of stellar nomenclature devised by celestial cartographer Johann Bayer (1572-March 7, 1625). A traditional name with rare familiarity comes from the Sanskrit word vrischika, meaning “scorpion.”

Two multiple star systems frame Crown of the Scorpion asterism. Nu Scorpii ν Sco; 14 Scorpii) angles northeast of Graffias. Rho Scorpii trails south of Pi Scorpii.

Nu Scorpii shares with Pi Scorpii the same Arabic word, al-jabhah (“forehead”) as the derivation for its traditional name of Jabbah. Rho Scorpii (ρ Sco; ρ Scorpii) is known by its Bayer designation.

Jabbah and Rho Scorpii often are imagined as a kite shaped figure that extends outward from Crown of the Scorpion asterism and fans upward from Antares. Known as Cor Scorpii (“heart of the scorpion”), Antares is a binary star system with a red supergiant as primary star and a bluish-white companion that appears green in contrast.

The takeaway for Crown of the Scorpion asterism is its announcement of the visibility of the Southern Hemisphere’s Scorpius the Scorpion constellation in the Northern Hemisphere as the entirety of the j-shaped figure rises above the horizon during northern summers at mid-northern latitudes.

three star Crown of the Scorpion asterism and other stars in Scorpius the Scorpion constellation: International Astronomical Union and Sky & Telescope, CC BY 4.0 International, via International Astronomical Union (IAU)

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

kite-shaped figure fans upward from Antares, heart of Scorpius the Scorpion constellation, to frame three star Crown of the Scorpion asterism: Till Credner, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ScorpiusCC.jpg

three star Crown of the Scorpion asterism and other stars in Scorpius the Scorpion constellation: International Astronomical Union and Sky & Telescope, CC BY 4.0 International, via International Astronomical Union (IAU) @ https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/ (image URL @ https://www.iau.org/public/images/detail/sco/)

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