Star profile
44 Ophiuchi
What is 44 Ophiuchi
A serene white A-type beacon glows along the northern flank of Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer. At magnitude 4.16 it remains visible to the unaided eye on a clear night, set apart from the busier summer constellations. Its light has travelled roughly eighty-three years to reach us —a modest cosmic span, yet long enough that the photons arriving tonight left the star before humans first set foot on the Moon.
Where it is and when to see it
44 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 14° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 25° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 80° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 66° N.
It ranks no. 16 in brightness among the 88 stars of Ophiuchus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rasalhague, the brightest: it lies about 37° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 83 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 44 Ophiuchi
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.16
- Distance
- 83.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 261.593° · Dec -24.175°
- Catalogue
- HIP 85340 · HD 157792
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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
- MarfikLambda Ophiuchi3.82
- 67 Ophiuchi3.93
- 70 Ophiuchi4.03
- Chi Ophiuchi4.22
- 45 Ophiuchi4.28