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| Lesath (top) and Shaula, "The Cat's Eyes" |
The
45th star in the Nautical Almanac is designated Lambda Scorpii despite
the fact that it is the second brightest star in the constellation
Scorpius (aka Scorpio). It is much better known as Shaula from the
Arabic word for "The Raised." This name refers to its position as the
"stinger star" of the Scorpion (and Shaula is often translated as
"stinger"). It makes a pair with Upsilon Scorpii (Lesath) which lies
just above it visually, and is almost as bright. Together, Shaula and
Lesath are called "The Cat's Eyes."
Shaula lies 570 light years from Earth and Lesath lies 600 light years from Earth, so they are not actually paired. But Shaula is a trinary star, made up of two blue stars and one pre-Main Sequence star. There are also believed to be two dim (possibly red or brown dwarf) stars of the 15th Magnitude or less in the Shaula System.
Shaula A has 14.5 times the mass of the Sun. It is nine times the Sun's radius. It is 36,500 times as bright as our Sun, and burns at 46,340 degrees Fahrenheit.
Shaula B is ten times the Sun's mass and five times its radius. It is just as hot as Shaula A, and is presumed to be almost as bright (although the glare of Shaula A makes this hard to determine). Both Shaula A and Shaula B are variable stars, though as a unit they never leave the second magnitude.
Shaula Ab, the third star in the system has been determined to be rather Sun-like, although the youth of the Shaula System (about 11 million years old) means that this star is still developing. Of the two dwarf stars almost nothing is known, although they are estimated to be several times the size of Jupiter.
Due to the high energy output of the blue stars Shaula A and Shaula B, the Shaula System is not expected to last more than a few tens of millions of years at most. The two blue stars were most likely formed together and may die together in an immense double supernova taking the third star with them.
Lesath's name is usually translated as "Stinger" though it may mean "Foggy" (due to the misty look of the Milky Way behind it). Being 170 light years apart, the Shaula system and Lesath, both blue giants, would appear to be Magnitude 0 stars as seen from the vicinity of the other. In fact, Lesath and the Shaula system are all part of the Scorpio-Centaurus Star Group, and are very similar. Lesath is slightly cooler than Shaula A, at 39,900 degrees Fahrenheit. It also rotates more slowly than the Shaula blue giants.
Virtually all human cultures see Scorpio as a scorpion (although this has varied over the millennia) but all cultures see the Cat's Eyes as a harbinger. Comets in the vicinity are said to portend evil. The two stars are alchemically related to poisons and purgatives. In numerous cultures Shaula and Lesath together make up the eyes of the Lady of the Underworld, adding a bit more darkness to Scorpio's already-dark (but generally not evil) reputation.
Shaula lies 570 light years from Earth and Lesath lies 600 light years from Earth, so they are not actually paired. But Shaula is a trinary star, made up of two blue stars and one pre-Main Sequence star. There are also believed to be two dim (possibly red or brown dwarf) stars of the 15th Magnitude or less in the Shaula System.
Shaula A has 14.5 times the mass of the Sun. It is nine times the Sun's radius. It is 36,500 times as bright as our Sun, and burns at 46,340 degrees Fahrenheit.
Shaula B is ten times the Sun's mass and five times its radius. It is just as hot as Shaula A, and is presumed to be almost as bright (although the glare of Shaula A makes this hard to determine). Both Shaula A and Shaula B are variable stars, though as a unit they never leave the second magnitude.
Shaula Ab, the third star in the system has been determined to be rather Sun-like, although the youth of the Shaula System (about 11 million years old) means that this star is still developing. Of the two dwarf stars almost nothing is known, although they are estimated to be several times the size of Jupiter.
Due to the high energy output of the blue stars Shaula A and Shaula B, the Shaula System is not expected to last more than a few tens of millions of years at most. The two blue stars were most likely formed together and may die together in an immense double supernova taking the third star with them.
Lesath's name is usually translated as "Stinger" though it may mean "Foggy" (due to the misty look of the Milky Way behind it). Being 170 light years apart, the Shaula system and Lesath, both blue giants, would appear to be Magnitude 0 stars as seen from the vicinity of the other. In fact, Lesath and the Shaula system are all part of the Scorpio-Centaurus Star Group, and are very similar. Lesath is slightly cooler than Shaula A, at 39,900 degrees Fahrenheit. It also rotates more slowly than the Shaula blue giants.
Virtually all human cultures see Scorpio as a scorpion (although this has varied over the millennia) but all cultures see the Cat's Eyes as a harbinger. Comets in the vicinity are said to portend evil. The two stars are alchemically related to poisons and purgatives. In numerous cultures Shaula and Lesath together make up the eyes of the Lady of the Underworld, adding a bit more darkness to Scorpio's already-dark (but generally not evil) reputation.
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