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Scorpius is a zodiac constellation located in the Southern celestial hemisphere, where it sits near the center of the Milky Way, between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Scorpius is an ancient constellation whose recognition predates Greek culture; it is one of the 48 constellations identified by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century.
Marking the tip of the scorpion's curved tail are Lambda Scorpii (Shaula) and Upsilon Scorpii (Lesath), whose names both mean "sting." Given their proximity to one another, λ Sco and υ Sco are sometimes referred to as the Cat's Eyes.Fred Schaaf (Macmillan 1988) 40 Nights to Knowing the Sky: A Night-by-Night Sky-Watching Primer, p. 79 ().
The constellation's bright stars form a pattern like a longshoreman's hook. Most of them are massive members of the nearest OB association: Scorpius–Centaurus.
The star δ Sco, after having been a stable 2.3 magnitude star, flared in July 2000 to 1.9 in a matter of weeks. It has since become a variable star fluctuating between 2.0 and 1.6. This means that at its brightest it is the second brightest star in Scorpius.
U Scorpii is the fastest known nova, with a period of about 10 years.
AH Scorpii is a red supergiant star and one of the largest known stars, being 1,400 times larger than the Sun. It is also a luminous star, 340,000 times brighter than the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen by the naked eye, with a brightness varying from 6.5 to 9.6.
The Omega Scorpii of stars ω1 Scorpii and ω² Scorpii are an optical double, which can be resolved by the unaided eye. One is a yellow giant, while the other is a blue B-type star in the Scorpius-Centaurus Association.
The star once designated γ Sco (despite being well within the boundaries of Libra) is today known as Sigma Librae. Moreover, the entire constellation of Libra was considered to be claws of Scorpius ( Chelae Scorpionis) in Ancient Greek times, with a set of scales held aloft by Astraea (represented by adjacent Virgo) being formed from these westernmost stars during later Greek times. The division into Libra was formalised during Ancient Greek or Ancient Rome times.
Messier 80 (NGC 6093) is a globular cluster of magnitude 7.3, 33,000 light-years from Earth. It is a compact Shapley class II cluster; the classification indicates that it is highly concentrated and dense at its nucleus. M80 was discovered in 1781 by Charles Messier. It was the site of a rare discovery in 1860 when Arthur von Auwers discovered the nova T Scorpii.
NGC 6302, also called the Bug Nebula, is a bipolar planetary nebula. NGC 6334, also known as the Cat's Paw Nebula, is an emission nebula and star-forming region.
In a Greek myth without Orion, the celestial scorpion encountered Phaethon while he was driving his father Helios' Sun Chariot. Scorpio - The Legend and Myth
In some old descriptions the constellation of Libra is treated as the Scorpion's claws. Libra was known as the Claws of the Scorpion in Babylonian ( zibānītu (compare Arabic zubānā)) and in Greek (χηλαι). Babylonian Star-lore by Gavin White, Solaria Pubs, 2008 page 175
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