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Grafias

Zeta² Scorpii

Orange giant in Scorpius

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Proper Name	Grafias*
Bayer Designation	Zeta² Scorpii
Flamsteed Number	None
HR (BSC)	6271
HD	152334
Constellation	Scorpius
Right Ascension	16h 54m 35s
Declination	-42° 21' 41"
Distance	135 light years 41 parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +3.60 Absolute: +0.52
Spectral Class	K4III orange giant
Optimum Visibility	June

Grafias or Zeta² Scorpii forms a close optical pair with Zeta¹ Scorpii, the bright star seen to its immediate west (right) in this image. The two stars lie close together as seen from Earth, but are very widely separated in space, with Zeta¹ Scorpii being an extremely distant supergiant, much more luminous that Zeta², but lying an estimated forty times farther from the Sun. The third bright star in this trio (southward of the other two) is HR 6266, also unrelated, which is a bright giant some 1,200 light years away (much farther than Grafias, but also far less distant than Zeta¹). Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

* The name Grafias or Graffias (coming from the Arabic for 'claws') has been traditionally applied to various stars within Scorpius. It is most usually seen (in the spelling Graffias) as an alternative name for Acrab or Beta Scorpii, and also sometimes as a name for Xi Scorpii. Its application to Zeta Scorpii is much rarer, and it is notable that (unlike the other stars that bear the name) it appears as part of the body of the Scorpion rather than its claws. This suggests that the name may possibly have been assigned in error at some point, in confusion for one of the other stars that bear the name.

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