Your guide to the Solar System and the night sky
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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:43  ☀️ Transit: 13:03  🌅 Sunset: 19:24

Fang - π Scorpii (pi Scorpii)

Fang, also designated as π Scorpii (pi Scorpii), is a variable and multiple main-sequence star in the constellation of Scorpius.

Fang visual magnitude is 2.89. Thanks to its high brightness, Fang is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Fang:

2.89
Main-sequence
Fang - π Scorpii (pi Scorpii) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 11°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Fang

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

15h 58m 51s
-26° 06’ 51”
347.22°
20.23°
Scorpius

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

Finder chart Fang - π Scorpii (pi Scorpii) star
Simplified finder chart for Fang - π Scorpii (pi Scorpii).

Visibility of Fang from your location

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

Today's Fang - π Scorpii (pi Scorpii) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 116.1°
Max altitude: 12.4°
Azimuth: 243.9°
Fang - π Scorpii (pi Scorpii) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Fang

The image below is a photograph of Fang from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of Fang is -0.011 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.026 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Fang - π Scorpii (pi Scorpii) star
DSS2 image of Fang. The red arrow shows the motion of Fang during the next 10000 years (-1.83 arcmin in Right Ascension and -4.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Fang from the Sun and relative movement

Fang is distant 459.15 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 3 kilometers per second.

140.85 pc
459.15 ly
-3 km/s
-0.011 arcsec/year
-0.026 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Fang

Fang belongs to spectral class B1 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

-2.85
B1V
13348K

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

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

Fang star system properties

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

2.89
4.09
1.2
0 arcsec

Alternative designations of Fang

Fang
π Scorpii
(pi Scorpii)
SAO183987
SAO183987