Antares is one of the brightest stars in the sky (roughly the fifteenth). It’s thousands of times bigger than the Sun, but don’t worry, it won’t engulf us as far as astronomers know. The red giant star is located 554 light-years away from Earth, which means enough to not pose any threat.
But you’ll get to see Antares on the night sky soon if you’ll be patient and aware enough. And, of course, you’ll still need to have a pretty clear sky above your head. You may need to spend some time looking for a good spot.
Get ready for the morning of February 24
According to The Guardian, stargazers will get to see the red star Antares near the Moon on the morning of February 24. While our natural satellite will be placed low in the night sky and at an altitude of only 12 degrees, the red star will be even lower.
Did we mention that Antares is huge? Well, yes, and here’s exactly how huge: it features a radius of 473.08 million km. Astronomers also calculated that the radius of our Sun is only 696,340 km. By applying some simple math, you’ll easily find out that the radius of Antares is about 679 times bigger than that of our own star. By comparison, Earth’s radius is only 6,371 km.
Perhaps you’re wondering where does the name ‘Antares’ come from. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
Its traditional name Antares derives from the Ancient Greek Ἀντάρης,[16] meaning “rival to-Ares” (“opponent to-Mars”), due to the similarity of its reddish hue to the appearance of the planet Mars.
Feel free to tell us if you’re willing to see Antares as it shines on the night sky and if you’re doing anything special for February 24! Grabbing a binocular for the morning of that day will grant an even more interesting experience!