Star profile

Alniyat

Sigma Scorpii · Scorpius

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Alniyat

Alniyat, sigma Scorpii, is a blue variable that pulses beside red Antares in the very heart of the celestial scorpion. Its Arabic name «al-niyāṭ» refers to the arteries supporting the heart: a precise anatomical image for a star that literally beats. The light we see tonight travelled 697 years, set off when the Black Death was rewriting the demography of Europe.

Where it is and when to see it

Alniyat lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 13° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 24° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 82° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 64° N.

It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 104 stars of Scorpius in our catalogue. To find it, start from Antares, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 700 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Alniyat

Constellation: Scorpius
Apparent magnitude: 2.90
Distance: 697.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 245.297° · Dec -25.593°
Catalogue: HIP 80112 · HD 147165

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Other stars in Scorpius

Scorpius has 104 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 104 stars in Scorpius