Scorpius is one of the most southern constellations that we can see. Because of our northern location on the Earth, we can only see the scorpion during the summer months. It's long curving tail touches the southern horizon. The bright reddish star Antares marks the heart of the scorpion. The name Antares is Arabic for "Mar's rival" because it looks almost identical to Mars.

Located only 1.5 degrees west of Antares is M4, one of the largest and brightest globular clusters in the sky. Use binoculars to spot this gem.

The scorpion holds an infamous place in Greek mythology as the slayer of the mighty hunter Orion. As Orion sets in the west each spring, Scorpius rises in the east.

The scorpion was also responsible for the death of Phaeton, son of Apollo, who tried to drive his father's sun-chariot across the sky. (see Cygnus, July, 2000). Scorpius once had claws, but they were cut off by Julius Ceasar to form the constellation Libra, located just west of Scorpius. Scorpius also looks like the letter J.