Double Star in Scorpius
Three bright stars stretching roughly north to south mark the claws of Scorpius, the scorpion. The northernmost of the three is Graffias or Beta Scorpii, a nice double star that can be resolved in just about any telescope. Both are massive stars much larger than our Sun, and one orbit takes about 16,000 years.
| Magnitudes | 2.6, 4.9 |
| Separation | 14" |
| Distance (light yrs) | 400 |
| Right Ascension | 16:05.5 |
| Declination | -19 48 |
Image details: Composed of 1/5-s and 2-s exposures, taken with a ZWO ASI2600MC Pro imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/5.6.
July 2025