Libra constellation lies in the southern sky. It is one of the zodiac constellations, first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
The constellation’s name means “the weighing scales” in Latin, and Libra is usually depicted as the scales held by the Greek goddess of justice Dike (or Astraea), represented by the neighbouring Virgo constellation.
Libra is the only zodiac constellation that represents an object, not an animal or a character from mythology. The four brightest stars in the constellation form a quadrangle. Alpha and Beta Librae mark the scales’ balance beam, and Gamma and Sigma Librae represent the weighing pans. Libra is also home to HD 140283, popularly known as Methuselah, currently the oldest known star in the universe.
The constellation is represented by the symbol . It does not contain any first magnitude stars.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Libra is the 29th constellation in size, occupying an area of 538 square degrees. It lies in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +65° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Centaurus, Hydra, Lupus, Ophiuchus, Scorpius, Serpens Caput and Virgo.
Libra belongs to the Zodiac family of constellations, along with Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces.
Libra contains three stars with known planets and does not have any Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Zubeneschamali, Beta Librae, with an apparent magnitude of 2.61. There is one meteor shower associated with the constellation, the May Librids.
MYTH
Ancient Greeks knew the part of the sky occupied by the Libra constellation as Chelae, or “claws,” and considered it part of Scorpio constellation. Chelae represented the scorpion’s claws.
The association of this region of the sky with scales was established among the Romans in the first century BC. It is said that Moon was located in Libra when Rome was founded. The Romans considered Libra to be a favoured constellation, one associated with balanced seasons and equal length of night and day. The Sun was at the autumnal equinox in Libra until the year 729, when the precession of the equinoxes shifted the equinox to Virgo. The autumnal equinox will move to constellation Leo in the year 2439.
The Romans were not the first to associate Libra with the idea of balance. The Babylonians called it ZIB.BA.AN.NA, which means “the balance of heaven,” about a thousand years before Christ.
Once Libra became associated with balance, its association with Scorpio’s claws faded and the one with the goddess of justice, the Greek Dike or Astraeia, represented by the constellation Virgo, became stronger.
As a reminder that Libra was once considered a part of Scorpio constellation, the brightest star in Libra, Beta Librae, has the name Zubeneschamali, which means “the northern claw” in Arabic, while Alpha Librae, Zubenelgenubi, is “the southern claw.”
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