How to See Superstar Antares

Look into the heart of the Scorpion and you will find superstar Antares. No, Antares is not a Croatian basketball phenom, nor is gazing into the heart of the Scorpion an allusion to some spy novel. Antares happens to be a red super-giant and in prime viewing conditions during the month of June. Find a clear night, get a thermos of coffee and get ready to see superstar Antares.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Burning brightly, Antares is a first magnitude star – meaning it is the brightest a star can get. The star table, which lists the brightest stars in the sky from a range of -1 to 1, lists Antares as 1.6. Compare this to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky at -1.44, and you begin to understand that Antares is fairly easy to spot with the naked eye. Also convenient, in your quest to see superstar Antares, is the fact that it is one of only two red super-giant stars bright enough to be seen in the night sky. The other is completely on the other side of the sky and it's hooked into the constellation Orion, which is yesterday's news. These red stars are rare – constituting only 200 - but they are all much more difficult to see, meaning Antares and Betelgeuese (ask Tim Burton) are far closer to us than the others.
2. Research, and you'll find that Antares isn't just called a red super-giant for kicks; its diameter is 700 times greater than our sun. A very young star, Antares is oddly very near the end of its lifespan, which has lasted nearly 20 million years. Being a red-super giant has its advantages, such as being visible to earthlings, but because of its enormous size, it is burning much hotter and faster than a normal star would, thereby shortening its lifespan.
3. Face the east, at night, and you will be able to see Scorpius, if you know where Orion is, you know to look in the other direction – as legend has it, the scorpion killed Orion. Anyway, look into the eastern sky, scanning for three stars in a row, which will comprise the head of the scorpion. Utilizing the three stars as a reference point, try and visualize the letter 'T'. At the bottom of the 'T', you will find a bright red star. It will look distinctly like Mars, both in size and color. If you find that, you'll be able to see superstar Antares, but if you're unsure that you've found Antares and instead mistake Mars for it, look for a twinkle; a characteristic of stars that planets do not have.