The Constellation: Scorpius
Mythology
Orion was a mighty and fearless hunter, so great in fact that he vowed to kill every animal on the Earth. Gaia, the goddess of the Earth and protector of the animals, was angered by Orion and asked Scorpio, a giant scorpion, to kill Orion before he could harm the animals. Scorpio attacked Orion and stung him with his stinger. As a reward for his bravery and for saving the lives of all of the animals, Gaia placed Scorpio in the night sky. He is seen chasing Orion across the sky during the year. Orion is allowed to hunt peacefully in the winter, but as spring comes, Scorpio rises chasing Orion out of the sky.
Can you find Scorpius?
Scorpius like Sagittarius is most easily found looking south toward the Milky Way and following it upward. It is easiest to find Scorpius by looking for what looks like a fish hooks of bright stars. At the center of this hook is what visually looks like a bright red star. This is often mistaken for Mars being visually red, but this is the Red Giant star Antares which is the heart of Scorpius. The body of Scorpius is what looks like the fish hook, with the tail as the hook and the head and pincers of Scorpius being at the opposite end making a three pronged end point away from Sagittarius.
