Stars · Red supergiant

Antares

550 light-years · Light crosses it in 53 minutes

Across

946.2 million km

Vs Earth

680× Sun

Mass

14 Suns

Open Antares in Cosmic Scale

About

Antares is the red heart of Scorpius, a supergiant so large that if it replaced the Sun it would swallow the orbit of Mars. Its name means 'rival of Mars', for its similar colour.

Its name means "rival of Mars" for its red colour.

At a glance

Distance	550 light-years
Surface	3,660 K
Brightness	75,000 Suns
Companion	A hot blue star, Antares B

Did you know

1. It is losing mass so fast that it is surrounded by a glowing nebula of its own gas.
2. Its outer layers are so thin that in places the 'surface' is less dense than a laboratory vacuum.
3. It will explode as a supernova, probably within the next million years.

Real photo

• The first map of Antares's surface and its churning gas — VLT Interferometer, 2017 — ESO/K. Ohnaka (CC BY 4.0) · source