8 Astronomy Facts About The Constellation Of Libra, An Astrology Zodiac Sign
Librae!
pexels When you hear the word Libra, you might automatically think about zodiac signs and astrology.
You might even know a person who is the embodiment of a Libra personality type without even knowing their birth date.
A person who has Libra-like qualities is often svelte, long and lean, with true loveliness.
When they walk they float across the floor; a Libra is light on her feet.
There's something pleasing and uplifting about a Libra person's presence, but what exactly is the zodiac sign Libra, when it comes to the science of astronomy?
In astronomy, the term Libra still relates to the concept of a zodiac sign, but it relates more to a season vs a personality type.
Based upon the constellation of the scales, Libra is the 7th astrological sign out of 12 in the zodiac signs that help to divide the seasons on planet Earth.
Related to the Winter solstice, Libras are born between September 23 and October 22.
Libras are known for being cooperative, diplomatic, gracious, fair-minded and social. They love being around people, but will never conform to fit into a crowd.
Here are some more interesting facts about the Libra astrology zodiac sign, per astronomy.
1. The Scales
The Libra constellation is in the southern sky and in Latin, its name means "the weighing scales".
The Libra is depicted as the scales held by the Greek goddess of justice, Dike.
Unlike the other zodiac constellations who are represented by an animal or a character from mythology, the Libra is the only one that represents an object.
2. Constellation Location
Libra is the 29th constellation in size. It occupies an area of 538 square degrees. Its location is in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere.
The Libra's constellation neighbors are Centaurus, Hydra, Lupus, Ophiuchus, Scorpius, Serpens Caput and Virgo.
3. Libra's Stars
Libra's constellation has three stars with known planets. May Librids is the only meteor shower that has ever been associated with the constellation.
The brightest star in Libra has a magnitude of approximately 2.61. Its name is Zubeneschamali, Beta Librae.
4. Romans and Libra
A myth is that the association between Libra's constellation and scales came from the Romans in the first century B.C. Libra was one of the Romans favorite constellations partly due to Its belief that the moon was located in Libra when Rome was founded.
They associated the constellation with balanced seasons and equal length of night and day.
5. Libra and Scorpio
At one point, before Libra was a constellation of its own, it was associated with the Scorpio constellation.
The Babylonians were the first people to start associating Libra with balance followed by the Romans. Once it became associated with balance, it stopped being associated with Scorpio's claw.
6. Libra's brightest star
Libra's brightest star, the Beta Librae is about 185 light-years away from the solar system.
The star is a blue-white dwarf and it's known as a fast spinner. It has 4.9 times the solar radius and is approximately 130 times more luminous than the Sun.
7. The second brightest star
Libra's second brightest star, Alpha Librae, is a multiple star system. Its two brightest components form a binary star and they share a common proper motion through space.
They are believed to be part of the Castor Moving Group of stars, which is a group that shares a common origin about 200 million years ago.
The Alpha Librae will next be occulted by a planet on November 10, 2052.
8. Methuselah
Methuselah is known as the oldest star in the universe. It was believed to have been created right after the Big Bang.
The star’s age is estimated to be around 14.46 billion years old. Compare this to the universe, which is believed to be 13.77 billion years old.
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Lauren Margolis is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, entertainment news and relationship topics.