Star profile

Cebalrai

Beta Ophiuchi · Ophiuchus

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Cebalrai

Cebalrai marks the right shoulder of Ophiuchus, an orange K-type giant 82 light-years away. Its name, from the Arabic «Kalb ar-Rā‘ī», means «the shepherd's dog», a reference to old pastoral figures that populated the medieval Islamic sky before the Greco-Latin constellations took hold. It is a placid star, slightly cooler than the Sun yet much larger, whose coppery glow tints that corner of the summer sky with a warm, serene hue.

Where it is and when to see it

Cebalrai 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 43° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 54° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 52° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 85° S.

It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 88 stars of Ophiuchus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rasalhague, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 82 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Cebalrai

Constellation: Ophiuchus
Apparent magnitude: 2.76
Distance: 81.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 265.868° · Dec 4.567°
Catalogue: HIP 86742 · HD 161096

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Other stars in Ophiuchus

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

See all 88 stars in Ophiuchus