Antares is a swollen red supergiant star located in Scorpius the Scorpion. As the brightest star in that constellation it is designated as Alpha Scorpii. It is the 15th brightest star visible from Earth. It's outer layers are so swollen it would extend out past the orbit of Mars if it was located where our Sun is at. It also has a companion star that is a blue-white main sequence star. It illuminates part of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. As with many stars with this size, it most likely will explode as a supernova in the future.
Antares
- Constellation: Scorpius
- Right Ascension: 16h 29m 24.45970s
- Declination: −26° 25′ 55.2094″
- Distance: 550 ly
- Details
- Category: Stars
- Telescope: EDT 80mm Reftactor
- Camera: ZWO A071 Color