Libra refers to the zodiac constellation in the southern hemisphere of the night sky. The Latin name is "libra". The ancient Sumerians called the constellation Zib-Ba An-Na, which means "balance of Heaven." The constellation Libra is located between the constellations Scorpio and Virgo. By the way, in Babylonian astronomy his sign was represented in the form of scorpion claws. However, an error occurred in the translation from Arabic of the word "zubana" and the Akkadian word "zibanitu", both of which can mean both "scales" and "scorpion". It has the shape of a scorpion suspended upside down, and was known as the “Claw of Scorpio” until the 1st century BC, has never been identified previously as the constellation Libra.
In addition, it was suggested that this zodiac sign as if hints that when the sun enters this part of the ecliptic, the autumnal equinox sets in. In Egyptian ancient mythology, the constellation Libra, the Balance of Truth and the Last Judgment, goes back to the Egyptian rituals of the
afterlife, in which they are used to weigh the souls of the dead. In addition, they are associated with the
goddess Maat, as the main ancient Egyptian deity that was related to this constellation. She was the daughter of Ra and patronized truth, justice and universal harmony.
In Greek mythology, Libra is a constellation representing the Golden Chariot of Pluto harnessed by four black horses. Once, visiting the afterlife in his chariot, Pluto saw Persephone, the daughter of the god Zeus and
Demeter, the goddess of fertility. The story of Pluto's abduction of Persephone is a famous Greek myth that personifies the vegetation that wakes up in the spring, gives rise to sprouts and goes into the ground after harvesting.
Ancient Roman legends attribute the appearance of the constellation Libra to the emperor Augustus, who was famous for his justice. In gratitude to the great leader, subjects immortalized his name by naming this sign of the zodiac in memory of the justice of Augustus.
Today the sign is depicted as the scales held by Themis, the
Greek goddess of justice, thereby associating with the neighboring constellation Virgo.
This is the only sign of the zodiac that does not represent wildlife.
The constellation Libra covers an area of 538 square degrees and contains three stars with famous planets. It can be seen at latitudes between +65 ° and -90 °, and best of all it is visible at 9 pm during June. In stellar astrology, the Sun passes through Libra from October 16 to November 15, and in tropical astrology it is considered in this sign from September 23 to October 23.
The constellation Libra, whose photo you see above, does not have bright galaxies, but there is one that may be of interest to observers. The
spiral galaxy NGC 5885, with a magnitude of 11.7, located next to Beta Libra, can be seen with a large telescope. It is also home to the Gliese 581C - the first exoplanet to have been found to orbit its parent star, the red dwarf Gliese 581, within the star’s habitable zone. This terrestrial planet was found in 2007. Another planet orbiting the same star, Gliese 581e, the smallest exoplanet, has been discovered orbiting a normal star.