Summer Night Constellation _ Summer Night Constellation

The most representative constellation in the summer sky is

The most representative constellation in the summer sky is Scorpio.

Scorpio is the most conspicuous constellation in summer. There are many bright stars in it, and there are more than 20 brighter than 4m. Scorpio is big and bright, with many stars, which can be said to be the representative of the summer night constellation. In addition, it is also a zodiac, so it is particularly eye-catching. However, Scorpio only occupies a short range of 7 on the ecliptic, which is the shortest ecliptic among the twelve constellations.

Scorpio is immersed in the vast galaxy from alpha star to long scorpion tail. Alpha is located in the scorpion's chest, so the west calls it "the heart of Scorpio". Interestingly, in ancient China, the alpha star of Scorpio was placed in the center of 28 nights, which was called "Antares". Astronomers from the East and the West happen to coincide here.

On the research history of Scorpio

The ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy divided Scorpio into scorpion claw, north claw and south claw. The brightest star in Scorpio is Antares, with a brightness ranking of 16. Ancient Persians thought it was one of the four pillars to protect the celestial sphere. The other three pillars were Pisces' alpha star "Beiluoshimen", Leo's alpha star "Xuanyuan XIV" and Taurus' alpha star "Bisu V".

In ancient astronomy in China, the three stars in Scorpio are called Shang Xing and the three stars in Orion's belt are called Laonian Xing. Scorpio and Orion are the most prominent constellations in summer and winter respectively. They just rise and fall, never meet, and can't appear in the sky at the same time. Therefore, Du Fu has a poem: "When friends meet, it is as difficult as the stars in the morning and evening." (Eight Guards for Chu Shi).

In ancient China, the Scorpio region was mainly divided into three stars, among which Antares and nearby Scorpio σ and τ were in harmony with each other. The stars on the upper right of Antares were called Aphrodite, while a series of stars on the lower left of Antares were called Vesta.

The above contents refer to Baidu Encyclopedia-Scorpio.