Star profile
21 Ophiuchi
What is 21 Ophiuchi
21 Ophiuchi is a white A-type star about 379 light-years away, set in the body of Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. Its surface burns above nine thousand degrees and pours out a clean light, free of the warmth of giants or the redness of cool dwarfs. It belongs to the wide patchwork of suns that sketches out the largest constellation of the hidden zodiac, crossed by the plane of the Milky Way.
Where it is and when to see it
21 Ophiuchi lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is June, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 40° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 51° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 55° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 89° S.
It ranks no. 58 in brightness among the 88 stars of Ophiuchus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rasalhague, the brightest: it lies about 16° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 380 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 21 Ophiuchi
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.51
- Distance
- 378.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 252.854° · Dec 1.216°
- Catalogue
- HIP 82480 · HD 152127
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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 912375.43
- HIP 878475.44
- HIP 890655.50
- HIP 817545.55
- 24 Ophiuchi5.57