Star profile
Zeta Ophiuchi
Variable starWhat is Zeta Ophiuchi
Zeta Ophiuchi is the nearest O-type star to the Sun and tears through the Milky Way like a bullet: a supernova in its original binary hurled it out of the Scorpius-Centaurus association at over 100,000 km/h. In infrared light, interstellar dust traces a glowing bow shock ahead of it, an image that has become iconic. Without the veiling clouds, it would rank among the brightest stars in the night sky.
Where it is and when to see it
Zeta 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Zeta Ophiuchi
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.54
- Distance
- 366.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 249.290° · Dec -10.567°
- Catalogue
- HIP 81377 · HD 149757
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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
- Yed PriorDelta Ophiuchi2.73
- CebalraiBeta Ophiuchi2.76
- Kappa Ophiuchi3.19
- Yed PosteriorEpsilon Ophiuchi3.23
- Theta Ophiuchi3.27
- Nu Ophiuchi3.32