Summer in the UK and similar northern latitudes is the best time of year to catch sight of the zodiacal constellation Scorpius, the scorpion. The constellation contains the beautiful star Antares. Shining blood-red just above the southern horizon, Antares is a prize well worth tracking down and this week, the moon helps point it out.
The chart shows the view looking south from London at 23:00 BST on 9 June. The moon will be cruising through the constellation and Antares will be unmistakable, its sanguine hues contrasting beautifully with the silver light of the Earth’s natural satellite.
Technically, the moon will still be in its waxing gibbous phase but with 98% of its visible surface illuminated, in practice it will appear to us as essentially a full moon.
Antares itself is the 15th brightest star in the night sky. Situated about 550 light years from Earth, it contains about 15 times the mass of the sun, is about 680 times the size, and pours out almost 76,000 times more energy.
From the southern hemisphere, around mid-evening, Antares and Scorpius appear high in the eastern sky. From Sydney on 10 June, the moon and Antares will be side by side.
