National Research Council Canada
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Scorpius

Legend

Scorpius

Scorpius represents the scorpion that killed the hunter Orion. Orion was so proud of his hunting skills that he boasted he could track down and kill any animal on Earth. This boast was so incredible that the Earth trembled in rage and cracked open. Out of the crack crawled a scorpion, which then stung Orion to death. Out of pity, the gods placed Orion and Scorpius on opposite sides of the sky so there could be no more trouble between them.

The brightest star in Scorpius is called Antares. This star is quite red, and a lot of people mistake it for Mars. That's probably why Antares got its name. Ares was the god of war, also known as Mars, and "ant-" means "against". So, Antares — anti-Ares — means "the rival of Mars".

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