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| Abbreviation: Oph |
| English Name: The Serpent Holder |
| Genitive: Rasalhague |
| Hemisphere: Northern Hemisphere |
| Location: Between the constellations of Hercules and Scorpius. |
| Visible between latitudes: +80 and -80 degrees |
| Best season: Summer |
| Seen in three seasons: Spring, Summer, and Autumn. |
| Best seen in: July (map) |
| Seen between: June and August |
| Right Ascension (RA): 17 hour |
| Declination (DEC): +00 degrees |
| Area (square degrees): 948 (11th) |
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Ophiuchus (The Serpent Holder)
- Ophiuchus is a very large but not particularly classifiable constellation; the southern portion of which extends to the galactic plane.
o - The whole of the southern area is filled with gas and dust, giving rise to all three types of diffuse nebulae – there are some Open Clusters and about 25 Globular Clusters.
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Messier Objects in Ophiuchus
| M9 – Globular Cluster; Medium concentration of stars – bright, large and round. (Magnitude: +7.9) |
| M10 – Globular Cluster; Very well resolved in apertures greater than 10-inch. (Magnitude: +6.6) |
| M12 – Globular Cluster; low power (telescope’s eyepiece) there is a rocket-shaped. (Magnitude: +6.7) |
| M14 – Globular Cluster; Remarkable object – extremely rich. (Magnitude: +7.6) |
| M19 – Globular Cluster; appearing elongated/oval-shaped, even in binoculars – it begins to be resolved with 6-inch telescopes. (Magnitude: +7.2) |
| M62 – Globular Cluster; High concentration of stars, large and bright. (Magnitude: +6.6) |
| M107 – Globular Cluster; faintest as suffering from concentration, being so close to the galactic centre. |
More objects in Ophiuchus
| Select Catalog | No of Objects |
| Barnard (B) | 64x objects |
| Caldwell (C) | 0x object |
| Collinder (Cr) | 8x objects |
| New General Catalogue (NGC) | 42x objects |
| Index Catalogue (IC) | 21x objects |
| Sharpless (Sh2) | 3x objects |
Features of Interest
- NGC 6572 – Planetary Nebula; bright and is visible with 3-inch small telescopes. (Magnitude: +9.1)
o - NGC 6633 – Open Cluster; bright, integrated magnitude +4.6 – visible with naked-eye. Worth examining with binoculars.
o - IC 4665 – Open Cluster; large and scattered – no concentration of stars, moderate range in brightness. It is readily seen in binoculars and small telescopes. (Magnitude: +4.2)
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Named Stars
- Rasalhague (Alpha Oph)
- Cebalrai (Beta Oph)
- Yed Prior (Delta Oph)
- Yed Posterior (Epsilon Oph)
- Sabik (Eta Oph)
- Marfic (Lambda Oph)
- more list of stars in Ophiuchus
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Planetarium / Constellation Map
| Live constellation visible from the UK :- Planetarium (Ophiuchus) | Best Seen in: July (map) | Seen between: June and August |
IAU Sky Chart: Ophiuchus
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Constellations – Visible from the UK
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Parts visible from the UK
| Antlia | Columba | Eridanus | Fornax | Microscopium | ||
| Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Sagittarius | Scorpius | ||
| Sculptor |
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Constellations: Southern Celestial Hemisphere
…..– never seen from the UK
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Back to …Constellation Names
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