Upsilon Scorpii

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Star in the constellation Scorpius

title: "Upsilon Scorpii" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bayer-objects", "flamsteed-objects", "b-type-subgiants", "scorpius", "stars-with-proper-names", "hipparcos-objects", "bright-star-catalogue-objects", "henry-draper-catalogue-objects", "durchmusterung-objects"] description: "Star in the constellation Scorpius" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsilon_Scorpii" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Star in the constellation Scorpius ::

| name = υ Scorpii | image= |image=Scorpius constellation map.svg|alt=|float=center|width=260 |label=|position=right |mark=Red circle.svg|mark_width=10|mark_link=υ Sco |x=262|y=715 |caption=Location of υ Scorpii (circled) | epoch = J2000.0 | ra = | dec = | appmag_v = 2.70 | constell = Scorpius | class = B2 IV | b-v = −0.221 | u-b = −0.854 | variable = | radial_v = +8.0 | prop_mo_ra = −2.37 | prop_mo_dec = +30.09 | parallax = 5.66 | p_error = 0.18 | parallax_footnote = | absmag_v = −3.53 | mass = | radius = 6.1 | luminosity = 7,381 | temperature = | gravity = | metal_fe = | rotational_velocity = | rotation = | age_myr = | names = Lesath, υ Sco, 34 Sco, 34 Scorpii, CD−37°11638, HD 158408, HIP 85696, HR 6508, SAO 208896 |Simbad=ups+Sco

Upsilon Scorpii (υ Scorpii, abbreviated Upsilon Sco, υ Sco), formally named Lesath , is a star located in the "stinger" of the southern zodiac constellation of Scorpius, the scorpion. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 580 light-years from the Sun. In the night sky it lies near the 1.6 magnitude star Lambda Scorpii, and the two form an optical pair that is sometimes called the "Cat's Eyes".

Nomenclature

υ Scorpii (Latinised to Upsilon Scorpii) is the star's Bayer designation.

It bore the traditional name Lesath (alternatively spelled Leschath, Lesuth), from the 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. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN){{citation | url=https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/ | title=IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) | publisher=International Astronomical Union | access-date=22 May 2016 | postscript=. | archive-date=13 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513221742/https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/ | url-status=dead

Together with Lambda Scorpii (Shaula), Lesath is listed in the Babylonian compendium MUL.APIN as dSharur4 u dShargaz, meaning "Sharur and Shargaz". The indigenous Boorong people of northwestern Victoria named it as Karik Karik (together with Lambda Scorpii), "the Falcons"

In Chinese, 尾宿 (Wěi Xiù), meaning Tail, refers to an asterism consisting of Upsilon, Mu1, [[Epsilon Scorpii| Epsilon]], Zeta1, Zeta2, Eta, Theta, Iota1, Iota2, Kappa, and Lambda Scorpii. Consequently, the Chinese name for Upsilon Scorpii itself is 尾宿九 (Wěi Xiù jiǔ), "the Ninth Star of Tail".

Namesake

USS Lesuth (AK-125) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the star.

Properties

This star has apparent magnitude +2.7 and belongs to spectral class B2 IV, with the luminosity class of 'IV' indicating it is a subgiant star. The star's luminosity is 12,300 times that of the Sun, while its surface temperature is 22,831 kelvins. The star has a radius of 6.1 times solar and 11 times the mass of the Sun.

References

| title=XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation | last1=Anderson | first1=E. | last2=Francis | first2=Ch. | journal=Astronomy Letters | volume=38 | issue=5 | pages=331 | year=2012 | bibcode=2012AstL...38..331A | doi=10.1134/S1063773712050015 | arxiv=1108.4971 | s2cid=119257644 | postscript=. }}

References

  1. "Naming Stars". IAU.org.
  2. Robert Burnham. (1978). "Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System". Dover Publication, Inc..
  3. Hamacher, Duane W.. (2010). "An Aboriginal Australian Record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae". Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage.
  4. Stanbridge, WM. (1857). "On the Astronomy and Mythology of the Aboriginies of Victoria". Transactions Philosophical Institute Victoria.
  5. {{in lang. zh ''中國星座神話'', written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, {{ISBN. 978-986-7332-25-7.
  6. {{in lang. zh [http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Space/Research/StarName/c_research_chinengstars_ala_alz.htm 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表] {{webarchive. link. (2008-10-25 , Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.)
  7. van Leeuwen, F.. (November 2007). "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  8. (1979). "Michigan catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD stars". Dept. of Astronomy, University of Michigan.
  9. (1999). "Sixth Catalogue of Fundamental Stars (FK6). Part I. Basic fundamental stars with direct solutions". Astronomisches Rechen-Institut Heidelberg.
  10. (June 1968). "A photometric investigation of the Scorpio-Centaurus association".
  11. "ups Sco -- Star". Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg.
  12. "LESATH (Upsilon Scorpii)". University of Illinois.
  13. Rogers, J. H.. (February 1998). "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions". Journal of the British Astronomical Association.
  14. (2007). "The 50 best sights in astronomy and how to see them: observing eclipses, bright comets, meteor showers, and other celestial wonders". John Wiley and Sons.
  15. (January 2011). "A catalogue of young runaway Hipparcos stars within 3 kpc from the Sun". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  16. (November 1979). "Effective temperatures, angular diameters, distances and linear radii for 160 O and B stars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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bayer-objectsflamsteed-objectsb-type-subgiantsscorpiusstars-with-proper-nameshipparcos-objectsbright-star-catalogue-objectshenry-draper-catalogue-objectsdurchmusterung-objects