The Heart of the Scorpion

Antares is the brightest star near the moon tonight (August 5, 2014). 

Bright reddish Antares – also known as Alpha Scorpii – is easy to spot on a summer night. It is the brightest star – and distinctly reddish in color – in the fishhook-shaped pattern of stars known as the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. Both the Arabic and Latin names for the star Antares mean “heart of the Scorpion.” 

If you see this constellation in the sky, you’ll find that Antares does indeed seem to reside at the Scorpion’s heart. Antares appears as a bright reddish star that rides relatively low in the south all summer. 

The Heart of the Scorpion: a thermonuclear cauldron radiating unimaginable amounts of energy into the blackness and vastness of space.