The constellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer // E. Slawik, NOIRLab, NSF, AURA, and M. Zamani
Click below to see an annotated image and some facts about the stars that make up Ophiuchus!
Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer, is one of the original 48 constellations laid out by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is often considered the thirteenth Zodiac sign, since the Sun also moves through the bottom part of Ophiuchus between November 29 and December 18.
The named stars, in order of brightness, are:
Rasalhague (α Ophiuchi), a binary star system about 49 light years away. It consists of a blue-white giant and a red dwarf star. The name comes from the Arabic phrase raʼs al-ḥawwāʼ meaning "the head of the serpent collector." Appropriate!
Sabik (η Ophiuchi) is another binary star system about 88 light years away. It consists of two blue-white giant stars. The name comes from the Arabic word al-sābiq meaning "the preceding one," although what this is referring to is unknown.
Yed Prior (δ Ophiuchi) is a solitary red giant star about 171 light years away. Its name comes from the Arabic word yad meaning "hand" and the Latin word prior since it leads...
Yed Posterior (ε Ophiuchi) across the sky. Yed Posterior is a yellow-orange giant star about 107 light years away.
Cebalrai (β Ophiuchi) is a solitary orange giant star about 83 light years away. Its name comes from the Arabic phrase kalb al-rā‘ī meaning "the shepherd's dog."
Bake-eo (γ Ophiuchi) is a solitary blue-white giant star about 103 light years away. Its name comes from the Marshallese name Bake-eo (pronounced bakey-yew) which they give to a type of mussel.
There are a few deep-sky objects, including the star clusters M10 and M12 (both marked on the image) as well as M14, M19, M62, and M107. At the border between Ophiuchus and Scorpius, the Scorpion, lies the ρ Ophiuchi Cloud Complex.
