Constellations · Constellation · Ophiuchi · Oph
Constellation
Ophiuchus
The serpent-bearer — the healer Asclepius, wrestling a snake. The Sun passes through him every year, making him the thirteenth sign of the zodiac.
- Genitive
- Ophiuchi
- Area
- 948 square degrees · 11th of 88
- Brightest star
- Rasalhague · magnitude 2.08
- Naked-eye stars
- 177 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- early June
Myth
Asclepius learnt medicine so well he could raise the dead. Zeus struck him down to keep the order of things. The snake he holds survives on the medical symbol.
History
In 1604 Johannes Kepler watched a supernova here outshine every star — the last one seen in our own galaxy.
Did you know
Barnard’s Star, in Ophiuchus, moves across the sky faster than any other: a full Moon’s width every 180 years.