10 Interesting and Fun Facts About Antares

Fun Facts About Antares :

Have you ever looked at the night sky and noticed a red flickering object? If yes, it is not an object or a planet. It is the fifteenth brightest star called Antares or Alpha Scorpi. This star shines bright red, and it belongs to the constellation Scorpio. Let’s dive into some fun facts about Antares. 

1. Antares is so enormous that they can fit 50 million of our suns. The radius of Antares is 473.08 million km, which is 600- 800 times greater than the radius of the sun.
2. But how far is Antares from earth? Antares is 554.5 light-years away from the earth.
3. The red supergiant star shines 11,000 times brighter than the sun. The star radiates some energy known as bolometric luminosity, which is 65000 times more than the sun. However, it is not as hot as the sun.
4. Antares also has a companion star known as Antares B, which has a radius of 3.6176 million kilometers. It looks blueish white and is called “a little spark of glittering emerald.”
5. Antares is around 11-12 million years old. Antares uses lots of energy to burn. Once it loses all its fuel, the supergiant star will explode as a supernova. Antares is nearly at the end of its life, and scientists say that it will probably explode in the next ten thousand years.
6. The name ‘Antares’ derives from the Greek word Ἀντάρης, meaning “rival of mars.” Due to its bright red color and brightness, ancient Greece associated Antares with Mars.
7. Antares mythology– There are various myth stories associated with Antares. Here are few
   • Ancient Babylonians believe Antares as the breast or heart of a scorpion.
   • Antares is also called by many names such as the lord of the seed, the creator of prosperity, and the king.
   • Antares was represented by the scorpion god Serket in Ancient Egypt.
   • In Astrology, Antares indicates war, violence, and self-confidence.
   • Ancient Chinese called Antares the second star of the heart.
     
8. M1 class supergiant is the star type of Antares, and it is one of the largest visible stars in the sky.
9. According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics, scientists found the motion of clumsy dust in Antares.
10. If Antares is placed in the center of the solar system, it will completely cover the orbit of Mars or somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.