COSMOS / CONSTELLATIONS / OPH
Ophiuchus (Serpent Bearer)
The Serpent Bearer. IAU abbreviation Oph. One of the 48 classical constellations listed by Ptolemy in the Almagest in the 2nd century AD.
STAR CHART
KEY FACTS
- IAU abbreviation
- Oph
- Latin name / genitive
- Ophiuchus / Ophiuchi
- Position
- Right ascension ≈ 17 h 20 m; declination −30° to +14°
- Visibility from Türkiye
- Visible in full from anywhere in Türkiye. When it crosses the meridian its centre stands about 42° above the horizon from Ankara.
- Best time to observe
- Best placed at 21:00 Türkiye time around 8 August.
- Number of stars
- 183 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 in the catalogue; 40 brighter than 5 and 14 brighter than 4.
INTERACTIVE LAB
Where is Ophiuchus tonight?
The lab opens for Ankara on today’s date. Drag the time slider through the night; the “Best night” button jumps to the date when the constellation is highest at 21:00 (around 8 August). Change the city to compare the view from elsewhere in Türkiye and around the world.
MYTH, HISTORY AND OBSERVING
The healer Asclepius holding a serpent. The ecliptic passes through it, so the Sun crosses Ophiuchus every year in early December, yet it is not one of the traditional signs of the zodiac. Kepler’s supernova of 1604, Barnard’s Star, one of the Sun’s nearest neighbours, and many globular clusters such as M10 and M12 are here.
BRIGHTEST STARS
| Star | Magnitude | Distance (light-years) | Spectral type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasalhague | 2.08 | 49 | A5III |
| Sabik | 2.43 | 88 | A2.5Va |
| ζ Oph | 2.54 | 366 | O9.5V |
| Yed Prior | 2.73 | 171 | M1III |
| Cebalrai | 2.76 | 82 | K2III |
| κ Oph | 3.19 | 91 | K2IIIvar |
| Yed Posterior | 3.23 | 106 | G8III |
| θ Oph | 3.27 | 436 | B2IV |
Magnitude: apparent brightness; the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Distances derive from parallax measurements and are uncertain for distant stars. Source: HYG v4.1 star catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0).
SOURCES
Position, visibility and best observing time were computed approximately for this page from the catalogue stars (Ankara, 39.9° N). The 88 constellations were adopted by the IAU in 1922; their boundaries were drawn by Eugène Delporte in 1930.