Antares is located within the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. Credit: Dan Crowson

This week, the Moon returns to Scorpius and has a close encounter with Antares — the red supergiant sometimes called “the heart of the Scorpion.” On Thursday, Aug. 24, look to the South and you’ll see the Moon only about a degree away from Antares, which is about the 15th brightest star in the sky.

Antares is located in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, a region that is normally one of the most colorful regions of the sky, and was recently imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. You won’t see faint nebulae in that region when the Moon visits it this week — but you will see a beautiful conjunction in the summer sky.

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