When was the star Antares discovered?

Answer 1

Antares has been seen and noticed by all creatures looking at the night sky. Millions of years ago it was an important star in the heavens. Antares (α Scorpii, α Sco, Alpha Scorpii) is a red supergiant star in the Milky Way galaxy and the sixteenth brightest star in the nighttime sky (sometimes listed as fifteenth brightest, if the two brighter components of the Capella quadruple star system are counted as one star). Along with Aldebaran, Spica, and Regulus it is one of the four brightest stars near the ecliptic.

All these stars must have been known to the first astronomers, the Babylonians.

Answer 2

Antares is a star about 15 times the mass of the sun. Stars of that size generally live for about 10-15 million years so based on its stage in its life it is probably about 11-13 million years old.

Answer 3

A bright, visible star, it was charted by the ancient Egyptians and Persians.

Answer 4

Scorpio