#rasalhague

[sracygnus]

Got a new embroidery machine

[quiltofstars]

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.

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

[swedebeast]

The operation was a success. Some holes turned into tunnels, glue had to be applied, multiple attempts were made here and there - but now the only "traumatic event" these ingrates will complain about will be success on the battlefield!

[sakhanweaver]

Tyra Miraborg seconds after crashing into the Direwolf:

[airborneaberrant]

[pick-a-card-any-card]

Character Post Nr. 2

Great Hunter Rasalhague, known for short and sweet as Ras, is a vampire who's been around for five centuries or so, travelling, collecting, and having a grand old time. His latest curiosity is a bounty placed on the head of a god, bounty which has been left untouched for 1000 years, and is about to expire.

[lailoken]

I broke my dominant index finger a little while back, and though I was making good progress with it, I recently strained it again and set my healing back a fair amount. As such, I've decided to employ the traditional magical operation I know as 'Wresting the Thread'.

The process entails using a cord of undyed black wool to tie 9 enchanted knots, each of which captures the power of a particular healing prayer that is recited 9 times. That cord is then used to wrap and treat the injured extremity, and when the healing is done, the cord is burned.

Along with the basic traditional framework I learned, I also imbued the wool cord with the virtues of Medicus Oil (an empowered oil of sorcerous remediation,) and called upon the auspices of fixed star Rasalhague, which has shown itself, over the course of my work, to be a powerful ally in matters of health and mending.