Alniyat is a hot, luminous blue-white star beside Antares in Scorpius, one of the stars whose Arabic name places them around the Scorpion’s heart.
At a glance
| type | blue-white star (class B) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 697 light-years (214 pc) |
| its light left it | 697 years ago |
| luminosity | 26,300 × the Sun |
| radius | 8.38 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 25,400 K |
| constellation | Scorpius (Scorpion) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Alniyat
Alniyat, Sigma Scorpii, is a massive class B star, vastly more luminous than the Sun. It is a multiple system, and its main star pulsates gently, a Beta Cephei variable whose brightness rises and falls by a small amount in a matter of hours.
The name comes from the Arabic for the arteries: with Antares as the red heart of the Scorpion, Alniyat and its neighbour Paikauhale were the vessels on either side. Like many stars here it belongs to the young associations of hot stars around Scorpius and Centaurus.
What you see in the piece
Next to Antares its colour is the opposite one, hot blue against cool red, because colour in the piece is temperature.
Questions
How far away is Alniyat?
Alniyat is 697 light-years (214 pc) from the Sun.
What does Alniyat mean?
It comes from the Arabic for the arteries, the vessels around the heart of the Scorpion, which is Antares.