Constellation, Scales
Libra
The scales of the zodiac, the only zodiac figure that is an object rather than a creature. The Greeks saw its stars as the claws of the neighbouring scorpion.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Libra rises at 9:42 AM, is highest at 2:51 PM (33° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 7:57 PM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Libra. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
To the ancient Greeks this part of the sky was Chelae, the claws of Scorpius. The idea of a balance took hold among the Romans in the first century BC, although no one knows who introduced it. Ptolemy still called it the Claws, even though a Roman statue of his time, the Farnese Atlas, already shows a pair of scales on its globe. The balance idea is older still. Around 1000 BC the Babylonians called these stars ZIB.BA.AN.NA, the balance of heaven. Back then the Sun stood here at the autumn equinox, when day and night are equal in length.
Once seen as scales, Libra was linked with Virgo, who was identified with the goddess of justice. The two brightest stars still carry the old idea of claws. Zubenelgenubi comes from Arabic for ‘the southern claw’ and Zubeneschamali from ‘the northern claw’. Precession has since moved the autumn equinox into Virgo, yet astronomers still call it the ‘first point of Libra’.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Libra
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zubeneschamali | β Lib | 2.61 | 185 light-years |
| Zubenelgenubi | α2 Lib | 2.75 | 76 light-years |
| Brachium | σ Lib | 3.25 | 288 light-years |
| υ Lib | υ Lib | 3.60 | 224 light-years |
| τ Lib | τ Lib | 3.66 | 367 light-years |
| Zubenelhakrabi | γ Lib | 3.91 | 163 light-years |
| θ Lib | θ Lib | 4.13 | 169 light-years |
| 16 Lib | 16 Lib | 4.47 | 88 light-years |
| ι1 Lib | ι1 Lib | 4.54 | 380 light-years |
| 37 Lib | 37 Lib | 4.61 | 94 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 537 square degrees (29 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Lib |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, under the Greek name Chelae, the Claws |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 16 |
| Centre (J2000) | 15.4 h, -16° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC5897 | Globular cluster | 8.5 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.