2026, July 14: Scorpius After Sunset – Antares, M4, and the Summer Scorpion

July 14, 2026: Explore Scorpius after sunset. Find Antares, Messier 4, the Cat’s Eyes, and the Milky Way’s core while the Moon nears a new lunation.

Winter Messier Marathon Season
Chart Caption – A section of the Sky Atlas 2000.0 star map nebulae and star clusters near Scorpius’ tail. (Sky Publishing)

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:28 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:25 p.m. CDT.  Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.

Venus as an Evening Star

Today’s Highlights

• New Lunation
• Scorpius After Sunset

New Moon

Venus and Waxing Moon
Photo Caption – Venus and Waxing Moon

The Moon is at the New Moon phase today at 4:44 a.m. Central Time, beginning lunation 1281, the number of lunar cycles that have occurred since the count began over a century ago. Look for a waxing crescent Moon in the west-northwest after sunset tomorrow.

Antares, Scorpius

July Evenings: Scorpius is in the southern sky as twilight ends.
Chart Caption – Mid-July: Scorpius is in the southern sky as twilight ends.

Step outside two hours after sunset. Antares, a yellow-orange star, is low in the southern sky. In celestial artwork, this star represents the Scorpion’s heart. It is the 11th brightest star visible from the mid-northern latitudes. It is the summer equivalent of Orion’s Betelgeuse.

Antares is about 600 light years away, about 20% farther than Betelgeuse, shining with an intensity of about 9,000 suns, about 70% of Betelgeuse’s intensity. Both stars are known as red supergiants, enormous stars that are near the end of their stellar lives.

Stellar Properties

The H-R Diagram.
Chart Caption – The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram is a chart to compare stellar properties. (Credit: European Space Agency)

Stars shine from nuclear fusion – combining hydrogen to make helium. When most of the hydrogen is exhausted at the core, it collapses because the outflow of energy that balances gravity’s inward pressure diminishes. The core heats even more. This dramatic outflow of energy forces the outer layers to expand, causing them to cool and redden. Antares and Betelgeuse are about 700 times larger than the sun. If either star replaced the sun, the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars would be inside it.

Supernova

This view of the Crab Nebula in visible light comes from the Hubble Space Telescope and spans 12 light-years. The supernova remnant, located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, is among the best-studied objects in the sky. Credits: NASA/ESA/ASU/J. Hester
This view of the Crab Nebula in visible light comes from the Hubble Space Telescope and spans 12 light-years. The supernova remnant, located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, is among the best-studied objects in the sky.
Credits: NASA/ESA/ASU/J. Hester

Astronomical theory predicts that when temperatures cannot increase enough to sustain fusion and gravity no longer holds the star together, the outer layers are pushed into space in an explosion known as a supernova. In 1054, a star erupted near Taurus’ southern horn, Zeta Tauri. It was visible for nearly two years, appeared in the daytime sky, and outshone Venus for many days. Today it is cataloged as Messier 1 (M1), the Crab Nebula. Through today’s telescopes, a cloud of gas streams away from the region described by 11th-century Chinese astronomers.

Antares and Betelgeuse are destined to suffer this fate. Nearly seven years ago, Betelgeuse’s brightness dimmed considerably, starting speculation that the supernova process had begun. Investigations found a dust cloud between the star and Earth, very likely ejected by the star. Now the gas seems to have dispersed and the star has returned to its typical brightness.

Scorpius

Scorpius in the southern sky
Chart Caption – Look south during summer evenings to see the Celestial Scorpion.

Scorpius is fairly easy to recognize because it resembles a fish hook or the letter “J.” Dschubba, nearly 8° to Antares’ upper right, marks the head or crown. Graffias is above Dschubba and Pi Scorpii (π Sco). Together, they somewhat resemble Orion’s Belt tipped sideways.

From Dschubba, look back toward Antares, then to the lower left to follow the arcing body and tail. Near the horizon, the shape curves upward, ending at Shaula – “the cocked-up part of the tail” – and Lesath, the Stinger. Because of their proximity, they are also known as the Cat’s Eyes. The Milky Way galaxy’s core is to their upper left.

Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, today part of Libra, represent the Scorpion’s claws. They are west of Dschubba.

Messier 4 Star Cluster

The dazzling stars in Messier 15 look fresh and new in this image from the NASA/Hubble Space Telescope, but they are actually all roughly 13 billion years old, making them some of the most ancient objects in the Universe.
The dazzling stars in Messier 15 look fresh and new in this image from the NASA/Hubble Space Telescope, but they are actually all roughly 13 billion years old, making them some of the most ancient objects in the Universe. (NASA Photo)

Scan the region to see a myriad of stars and gas clouds. One notable star cluster, Messier 4 (M4), is a globular cluster in the same binocular field with Antares, making it one of the easiest globular clusters to locate.

Explore Scorpius, especially with the Moon near the New phase. A trip to the countryside greatly improves the view of the Scorpion and its wonders.

LATEST ARTICLES