Upsilon Scorpii
 Location of υ Scorpii (circled) |
|
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Scorpius |
| Right ascension | 17h 30m 45.83712s[1] |
| Declination | –37° 17′ 44.9285″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 2.70[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | B2 IV[3] |
| U−B color index | –0.854[2] |
| B−V color index | –0.221[2] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +8.0[4] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: –2.37[1] mas/yr Dec.: 30.09[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 5.66 ± 0.18[1] mas |
| Distance | 580 ± 20 ly (177 ± 6 pc) |
| Details | |
| Mass | 11.4 ± 0.5[5] M☉ |
| Radius | 6.1[6] R☉ |
| Temperature | 22,831 ± 169[6] K |
| Age | 20.0 ± 2.6[5] Myr |
| Other designations | |
Upsilon Scorpii (υ Sco, υ Scorpii) is a star located in the "stinger" of the southern zodiac constellation of Scorpius, the scorpion. It has the traditional name Lesath (alternative spellings Leschath, Lesuth), from Arabic las'a = "pass (or bite) of a poisonous animal"; but this is a miscorrection by Scaliger (a European astronomer who knew Arabic) for earlier "Alascha", which came from Arabic al laţkha = "the foggy patch", referring to the nearby open cluster M7. On the night sky it lies near the 1.6 magnitude star Lambda Scorpii, so the two form an optical pair that is sometimes called the "Cat's Eyes".[8]
This star has apparent magnitude +2.7[2] and belongs to spectral class B2 IV,[3] with the luminosity class of 'IV' indicating it is a subgiant star. From parallax measurements, it is approximately 580 light years from Earth.[1] The star's luminosity is 12,300[9] times that of the Sun, while its surface temperature is 22,831[6] kelvins. The star has a radius of 6.1[6] times solar and 11[5] times the mass of the Sun.
In culture
- Together with λ Sco (Shaula), Lesath is listed in MUL.APIN as dSharur4 u dShargaz, meaning "Sharur and Shargaz".[10] In Coptic, they were called Minamref[11]
- The indigenous Boorong people of northwestern Victoria named it as Karik Karik (together with λ Sco),[12] "the Falcons"[13]
- USS Lesuth (AK-125) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the star.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ p. 1678, Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System, Volume 3, Robert Burnham, New York, Dover Publication, Inc., 1978.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
