Scorpius, Jupiter, and the Milky Way
In this long exposure photo a part of the Milky Way is clearly visible as a brown cloud with red areas (Hydrogen) in the center, known as the Dark River . To the right of that is a bright orange star; Antares, the heart of Scorpius. The group of dimmer blue stars to the right of Antares is Scorpius' head. Above Antares is a very bright white star, known commonly as Jupiter. In addition, numerous red emission nebulas and blue reflection nebulas are visible throughout this image.
Antares is easily found by spotting a bright red star in the evening sky. It should be the 16th brightest star with a magnitude of +1.09. Its red color comes from its nature of being a red supergiant, its brightness is nearly 10,000 times that of our sun. Antares is located about 600 ly from Earth. The star is in opposition on May 31st, which would be the best viewing time since it rises at dawn and sets at dusk.
Site: Picture from APOD
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