The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral barred galaxy, similar to our own Milky Way galaxy and 12 million years old. Within it, Antares is the bright red supergiant star in the constellation Scorpius.

Antares is approximately 550 light-years from the Earth. Its visual luminosity is about 10,000 times that of the Sun; its bolometric luminosity, 65,000 times that of the Sun. Antares is 833 times the size of the Sun and around 17 times as massive.