Zeta² Scorpii

Zeta² Scorpii (Zeta² Sco, ζ² Scorpii, ζ² Sco) is a K-type orange giant star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has an apparent visual magnitude which varies between 3.59 and 3.65, and is located near the blue-white supergiant star ζ¹ Scorpii in Earth's sky. In astronomical terms, ζ² is much closer to the Sun and unrelated to ζ¹ except for line-of sight co-incidence. ζ¹ is 5,700 light-years away and probably an outlying member of open star cluster NGC 6231 (also known as the "northern jewel box" cluster), whereas ζ² is a mere 132 lightyears distant and thus much less luminous in real terms. ζ² can also be distinguished from its optical partner, ζ¹, because of its orangish colour especially in long-exposure astrophotographs.