Jabbah is a hot blue-white star at the head of Scorpius, a crowded multiple system that lights a pale blue reflection nebula around itself.
At a glance
| type | blue-white star (class B) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 474 light-years (145 pc) |
| its light left it | 474 years ago |
| luminosity | 3,240 × the Sun |
| radius | 3.92 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 22,000 K |
| constellation | Scorpius (Scorpion) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Jabbah
Jabbah, catalogued as Nu Scorpii, is a young class B star, hotter and far more luminous than the Sun. A telescope splits it into a wide pair, and each of the two is itself double, so the point the eye sees is a whole family of stars bound together.
It belongs to the young groups of hot stars that fill this part of the sky around Scorpius and Ophiuchus, born together from the same clouds. Dust near it scatters its blue light into a faint reflection nebula, IC 4592. The name is usually traced to the Arabic for the forehead, the row of stars that crowns the Scorpion.
What you see in the piece
Seen from Earth it sits among the bright stars at the Scorpion’s head; fly out and it drifts away from them, because it lies well behind most of its neighbours in the figure.
Questions
How far away is Jabbah?
Jabbah is 474 light-years (145 pc) from the Sun, so its light left it 474 years ago.
Is Nu Scorpii a double star?
Yes. A small telescope shows two components, and each of them is itself a close double, making Nu Scorpii a multiple system.