Libra

Properties:

Right Ascension: 15h

Declination: −15°

Best Visibility: June(latitudes between +65 degrees and -90 degrees at 9 PM)

Symbolism: balance


The constellation of Libra was seen by Babylonians as a set of sacred scales for the sun god Shamash, a symbol of truth and justice. In Ancient Egypt, the three brightest stars of Libra were seen as a boat. Libra is associated with balance, which is why in most cultures, it was associated with liberty, civility, and justice.


Libra is home to the Gliese 581 planetary system, which holds quite a bit of promise but also quite a few questions. The star Gliese 581 holds three confirmed planets and two unconfirmed planets. Gliese 581d and Gliese 581g are candidates for housing extraterrestrial life but the existence of Gliese 581g isn't entirely confirmed, often being disputed within the scientific community. Gliese 581e is potentially the smallest mass exoplanet we've ever discovered orbiting a star to date. Gliese 581c is within the star's habitable zone and extremely Earth-like.

Citations/Attributions

Libra (constellation). Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libra_(constellation). License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

File:LibraCC. Provided by: Wikimedia commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LibraCC.jpg. License: CC BY-SA 3.0