Star profile
Upsilon Ophiuchi
What is Upsilon Ophiuchi
Upsilon Ophiuchi is a white A-type star about 133 light-years away, in the body of the Serpent Bearer. Its pure light, with barely a yellow or blue tint, betrays a surface temperature several thousand degrees hotter than the Sun. It belongs to the secondary backdrop of Ophiuchus —that vast constellation the Sun crosses each December, yet the traditional zodiac never names.
Where it is and when to see it
Upsilon Ophiuchi 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 30° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 41° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 64° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 82° N.
It ranks no. 30 in brightness among the 88 stars of Ophiuchus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rasalhague, the brightest: it lies about 27° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 130 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Upsilon Ophiuchi
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.62
- Distance
- 133.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 246.951° · Dec -8.372°
- Catalogue
- HIP 80628 · HD 148367
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Other stars in Ophiuchus
Ophiuchus has 88 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- RasalhagueAlpha Ophiuchi2.08
- SabikEta Ophiuchi2.43
- Zeta Ophiuchi2.54
- HIP 853654.53
- Rho Ophiuchi4.57
- Mu Ophiuchi4.58
- 20 Ophiuchi4.64
- 71 Ophiuchi4.64