Ophiuchus
| Constellation | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | Oph |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Ophiuchi |
| Right ascension | 17 |
| Declination | 0 |
| Area | 948 sq. deg. (11th) |
| Main stars | 10 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 5 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 13 |
| Brightest star | α Oph (Ras Alhague) (2.1m) |
| Meteor showers | Ophiuchids Northern May Ophiuchids Southern May Ophiuchids Theta Ophiuchids |
| Bordering constellations | Hercules Serpens Caput Libra Scorpius Sagittarius Serpens Cauda Aquila |
| Visible at latitudes between +80° and −80°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of July. | |
Ophiuchus (IPA: [ˌoʊfiˈjukəs]), formerly referred to as Serpentarius (IPA: [ˌsɚpənˈtʰeɹiəs]), both meaning "serpent-holder", is one of the 88 constellations, and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way, between Scorpius to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one which is not counted as an astrological sign.
Ophiuchus is depicted as a man supporting a serpent; the interposition of his body divides the snake into two parts, Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, which are nonetheless counted as one constellation.
Notable features
The brightest stars in Ophiuchus include α Ophiuchi, called Rasalhague, at the figure's head; and λ Ophiuchi, a triple star, at his elbow.
RS Ophiuchi is part of a strange class called recurrent novae, whose brightness increases at irregular intervals by hundreds of times in a period of just a few days. It is thought to be at the brink of becoming a type-1a supernova.[1]
Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Solar System (the only stars closer are the Alpha Centauri binary system and Proxima Centauri), lies in Ophiuchus. (It is located to the left of β and straight up from ν in the chart).
Notable deep-sky objects
Ophiuchus contains several star clusters, such as IC 4665, NGC 6633, M9, M10, M12, M14, M19, M62, and M107, as well as the nebula IC 4603-4604. The unusual galaxy merger remnant NGC 6240 is also in Ophiuchus.
Mythology
There exist a number of theories as to whom the figure represents.
The most recent interpretation is that the figure represents the healer Asclepius, who learned the secrets of keeping death at bay after observing one serpent bringing another (which Asclepius himself had fatally wounded) healing herbs. To prevent the entire human race from becoming immortal under Asclepius's care, Zeus killed him with a bolt of lightning, but later placed his image in the heavens to honour his good works. It has also been noted that the constellation Ophiuchus is in close proximity in the sky to that of Sagittarius, which has at times been believed to represent Chiron (the mentor of Asclepius and many other Greek demigods), though Chiron was originally associated with the constellation Centaurus.
Another possibility is that the figure represents the Trojan priest Laocoön, who was killed by a pair of sea serpents sent by the gods after he warned the Trojans not to accept the Trojan Horse. This event was also memorialized by the sculptors Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus in the famous marble sculpture Laocoön and his Sons, which stands in the Vatican Museums.
A third possibility is Apollo wrestling with the Python to take control of the oracle at Delphi.
There is also the story of Phorbas, a Thessalonikan who rescued the people of the island of Rhodes from a plague of serpents and was granted a place in the sky in honor of this deed.
One intriguing explanation is that Ophiuchus is an avatar for Cernunnos, the Celtic serpent-bearing god who is also the basis for our modern image of the devil.
It is considered by some to be the astrological sign for those born on a cusp, or rather, between two astrological periods.
History
This constellation, known from antiquity, is one of the 48 constellations described by Ptolemy. It has also been known as Serpentarius, a Latin form of its name.
The most important historical event in Ophiuchus was the Supernova of 1604, whose explosion was first observed on October 9, 1604, near θ Ophiuchi. Johannes Kepler saw it first on October 16, and studied it so extensively that the supernova was subsequently called Kepler's Supernova. He published his findings in a book titled De stella nova in pede Serpentarii (On the New Star in Ophiuchus's Foot). Galileo used its brief appearance to counter the Aristotelian dogma that the heavens are changeless.
It occurred only 32 years after another supernova in Cassiopeia that had been observed by Tycho Brahe; the last supernova before then had occurred in 1054 (see Crab Nebula), and after Kepler's no further naked-eye supernovae were observed until 1987 (see Supernova 1987a.)
Astrology
In the 2nd century, Ptolemy listed 29 stars in Ophiuchus. He recognised that most of those stars were north of the ecliptic (the path of the Sun through the sky) — however, 4 of them (today known as 36 Oph, 42 θ Oph, 44 Oph and 51 Oph) he recognised as being south of the ecliptic. Therefore, the Sun passed through the constellation of Ophiuchus as it was recognised by Ptolemy.
The reason that Ophiuchus is not a part of the western astrological zodiac is because that zodiac is defined on the basis of the sun spending an equal amount of time in twelve astrological signs starting at the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere — this is called the tropical zodiac. There is also a sidereal zodiac, which is based on the actual location of the stars in the sky, and which is used by Hindu and some Western astrologers. At present, the sun is in Ophiuchus from November 30 to December 17.
See also
References
External links
- The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Ophiuchus
- Ophiuchus the Zodiac Sign this is a pro-astrology link
- WIKISKY.ORG: Ophiuchus constellation
