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Star profile

Xi Ophiuchi

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is Xi Ophiuchi

Xi Ophiuchi shines just 57 light-years away within the vast Serpent-Bearer, the celestial figure who holds the snake between his hands. It is a relatively nearby F-type star, hotter and whiter than the Sun, with a crisp light that travels a cosmologically short distance before reaching an earthbound gaze.

Where it is and when to see it

Xi 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 June: 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.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

Write my signature

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 Xi Ophiuchi

Constellation
Ophiuchus
Apparent magnitude
4.39
Distance
56.6 light years
Coordinates (J2000)
RA 260.252° · Dec -21.113°
Catalogue
HIP 84893 · HD 156897

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Ophiuchus

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

See all 88 stars in Ophiuchus