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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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All Constellations » Scorpius » 

Antares - α Scorpii (alpha Scorpii)

Altitude: 12.0°   Azimuth: 175.5°   Direction: South

Antares, also designated as α Scorpii (alpha Scorpii), is a variable and double supergiant star in the constellation of Scorpius.

Antares visual magnitude is 0.96, making it the 14th brightest star in the sky. Thanks to its high brightness, Antares is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The proper motion of Antares is -0.01 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.02 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Antares - α Scorpii (alpha Scorpii) star
DSS2 image of Antares. The red arrow shows the motion of Antares during the next 10000 years (-1.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.33 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about Antares

0.96
Supergiant

Antares - α Scorpii (alpha Scorpii) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 12.0°
Azimuth: 175.5°
Direction: South

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Antares

Antares is situated south of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Antares are provided in the following table:

16h 29m 24s
-26° 25’ 54”
351.95°
15.06°
Scorpius

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Antares in the sky:

Finder chart Antares - α Scorpii (alpha Scorpii) star
Simplified finder chart for Antares - α Scorpii (alpha Scorpii).

Visibility of Antares from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Antares - α Scorpii (alpha Scorpii) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 116.4°
Max altitude: 12.1°
Azimuth: 243.6°

Distance of Antares from the Sun and relative movement

Antares is distant 603.70 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 3 kilometers per second.

185.19 pc
603.70 ly
-3 km/s
-0.01 arcsec/year
-0.02 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Antares

Antares belongs to spectral class M1 and has a luminosity class of I corresponding to a supergiant star.

-5.38
M1I
3356K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where Antares is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of Antares. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Antares star system properties

Antares is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of medium or large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Antares double sysyem:

0.96
5.16
4.2
2.9 arcsec

Alternative designations of Antares

Antares
α Scorpii
(alpha Scorpii)
SAO184415
SAO184415