Libra constellation

Libra, the Scales, is a zodiac constellation and the only one that depicts neither a person nor an animal. To the Greeks its stars originally belonged to Scorpius, forming the scorpion’s claws. The Arabic names of its two brightest stars still recall this: Zubenelgenubi means “southern claw” and Zubeneschamali “northern claw”. It was the Romans who firmly established the Scales, often interpreted as the scales of justice held by neighbouring Virgo. Other named stars include Zubenelhakrabi and Brachium. Striking deep-sky objects for small instruments are scarce. From Central Europe Libra appears in the evening sky in late spring and early summer, fairly low in the south, between bright Spica in Virgo and reddish Antares in Scorpius.