Star profile
70 Ophiuchi
Variable starWhat is 70 Ophiuchi
70 Ophiuchi is a binary system just 16.6 light-years away, where two orange dwarfs circle each other every 88 years. In 1779, William Herschel proved its two components were gravitationally bound —one of the first demonstrations that Newton's law applied beyond the Solar System—. In 1855, William Jacob even conjectured the presence of a planet within its orbit. It remains one of the most studied nearby binaries in the northern sky.
Where it is and when to see it
70 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: 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.
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.
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 70 Ophiuchi
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.03
- Distance
- 16.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 271.364° · Dec 2.500°
- Catalogue
- HIP 88601 · HD 165341
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.
- RasalhagueAlpha Ophiuchi2.08
- SabikEta Ophiuchi2.43
- Zeta Ophiuchi2.54
- Gamma Ophiuchi3.75
- MarfikLambda Ophiuchi3.82
- 67 Ophiuchi3.93
- 44 Ophiuchi4.16
- Chi Ophiuchi4.22