Star profile
74 Ophiuchi
What is 74 Ophiuchi
74 Ophiuchi is a G8III giant near the boundary with Serpens Cauda, regarded as a probable binary system. Its primary, now on the horizontal branch, fuses helium in its core and has grown to ten and a half solar radii, radiating 66 times the Sun's luminosity at an effective temperature of 5,073 K. It is roughly 1.7 billion years old and reaches us from 260 light-years away.
Where it is and when to see it
74 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 42° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 53° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 53° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 87° S.
It ranks no. 38 in brightness among the 88 stars of Ophiuchus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rasalhague, the brightest: it lies about 15° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 260 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 74 Ophiuchi
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.85
- Distance
- 260.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 275.217° · Dec 3.377°
- Catalogue
- HIP 89918 · HD 168656
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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
- 51 Ophiuchi4.78
- 66 Ophiuchi4.79
- 30 Ophiuchi4.82
- 58 Ophiuchi4.86
- HIP 817244.91