Star profile

Yed Posterior

Epsilon Ophiuchi · Ophiuchus

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Yed Posterior

Yed Posterior is «the rear hand» in Arabic, the hand the mythical Ophiuchus extends to grasp the serpent's tail. It is a yellow star resembling the Sun but older and more swollen, 107 light-years away. Its warm, golden light crosses a distance that takes a little over a century to traverse: the same span that separates radio from the first artificial satellite.

Where it is and when to see it

Yed Posterior lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 34° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 45° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 61° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 85° N.

It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 88 stars of Ophiuchus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rasalhague, the brightest: it lies about 26° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 110 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Yed Posterior

Constellation: Ophiuchus
Apparent magnitude: 3.23
Distance: 106.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 244.580° · Dec -4.693°
Catalogue: HIP 79882 · HD 146791

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Other stars in Ophiuchus

Ophiuchus has 88 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 88 stars in Ophiuchus