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Star profile

73 Ophiuchi

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

What is 73 Ophiuchi

73 Ophiuchi is a yellow type-F variable about 179 light-years away, in the body of the Serpent Bearer. Hotter than the Sun and slightly unstable, its brightness shifts over time in gentle oscillations. The light now settling on human pupils travelled from the early nineteenth century, when the first railway lines in Europe were still being laid.

Where it is and when to see it

73 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.

Find it on the sky map

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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 73 Ophiuchi

Constellation
Ophiuchus
Apparent magnitude
5.71
Distance
178.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000)
RA 272.391° · Dec 3.993°
Catalogue
HIP 88964 · HD 166233

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