Editing Libra (constellation) (section)

==Features==
===Stars===
{{See also|List of stars in Libra}}
[[Image:LibraCC.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The constellation Libra marked on a naked eye view.]]
Overall, there are 83 stars within the constellation's borders brighter than or equal to [[apparent magnitude]] 6.5.{{efn|1=Objects of magnitude 6.5 are among the faintest visible to the unaided eye in suburban-rural transition night skies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/3304011.html?page=1&c=y|title=The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale|last=Bortle|first=John E.|date=February 2001|work=[[Sky & Telescope]]|publisher=Sky Publishing Corporation|access-date=3 April 2015|archive-date=31 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331202746/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/3304011.html?page=1&c=y|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}<ref name=tirionconst/>

The brightest stars in Libra form a [[quadrilateral|quadrangle]] that distinguishes it for the unaided observer. Traditionally, Alpha and Beta Librae are considered to represent the scales' balance beam, while Gamma and Sigma are the weighing pans.

[[Alpha Librae]], called Zubenelgenubi, is a multiple star system divisible into two stars when seen through binoculars, The primary (Alpha<sup>2</sup> Librae) is a blue-white star of magnitude 2.7 and the secondary (Alpha<sup>1</sup> Librae) is a white star of magnitude 5.2 and spectral type F3V that is 74.9 ± 0.7 light-years from Earth.  Its traditional name means "the southern claw". Zubeneschamali ([[Beta Librae]]) is the corresponding "northern claw" to Zubenelgenubi. The brightest star in Libra, Zubeneschamali is a green-tinged star of magnitude 2.6, 160 (or 185 ± 2) light-years from Earth. [[Gamma Librae]] is called Zubenelakrab, which means "the scorpion's claw", completing the suite of names referring to Libra's archaic status. It is an [[orange giant]] of magnitude 3.9, 152 light-years from Earth.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2001|pp=172-173}}

[[Iota Librae]] is a complex multiple star, 377 light-years from Earth, with both optical and true binary components in it. The primary appears as a blue-white star of magnitude 4.5; it is a binary star indivisible in even the largest amateur instruments with a period of 23 years. The secondary, visible in small telescopes as a star of magnitude 9.4, is a binary with two components, magnitudes 10 and 11. There is an optical companion to Iota Librae; [[25 Librae]] is a star of magnitude 6.1, 219 light-years from Earth and visible in binoculars. [[Mu Librae]] is a binary star divisible in medium-aperture amateur telescopes, 235 light-years from Earth. The primary is of magnitude 5.7 and the secondary is of magnitude 6.8.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2001|pp=172-173}}

[[Delta Librae]] is an [[Algol variable|Algol-type]] [[eclipsing variable]] star, 304 lightyears from Earth. It has a period of 2 days, 8 hours; its minimum magnitude of 5.9 and its maximum magnitude is 4.9. [[FX Librae]], designated [[48 Librae]], is a [[shell star]] of magnitude 4.9. Shell stars, like [[Pleione (star)|Pleione]] and [[Gamma Cassiopeiae]], are [[blue supergiant]]s with irregular variations caused by their abnormally high speed of rotation. This ejects gas from the star's equator.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2001|pp=172-173}}

[[Sigma Librae]] (the proper name is Brachium<ref name="IAU-LSN">{{cite web | url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/ | title=Naming Stars |publisher=IAU.org |access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref>) was formerly known as Gamma Scorpii despite being well inside the boundaries of Libra. It was not redesignated as Sigma Librae until 1851 by [[Benjamin A. Gould]].