Ophiuchus
Constellation | |
11th) | |
Main stars | 10 |
---|---|
Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 65 |
Stars brighter than 3.00m | 5 |
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 11 |
Brightest star | α Oph (Rasalhague) (2.08m) |
Messier objects | 7 |
Meteor showers |
|
Bordering constellations | |
Visible at latitudes between +80° and −80°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of July. |
Ophiuchus (/ˌɒfiˈjuːkəs/) is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name comes from the Ancient Greek ὀφιοῦχος (ophioûkhos), meaning "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. The serpent is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. An old alternative name for the constellation was Serpentarius (/ˌsɜːrpənˈtɛəriəs/).[1]
Location
Ophiuchus lies between
In contrast to Orion, from November to January (summer in the Southern Hemisphere, winter in the Northern Hemisphere), Ophiuchus is in the daytime sky and thus not visible at most latitudes. However, for much of the Arctic Circle in the Northern Hemisphere's winter months, the Sun is below the horizon even at midday. Stars (and thus parts of Ophiuchus, especially Rasalhague) are then visible at twilight for a few hours around local noon, low in the south. In the Northern Hemisphere's spring and summer months, when Ophiuchus is normally visible in the night sky, the constellation is actually not visible, because the midnight sun obscures the stars at those times and places in the Arctic. In countries close to the equator, Ophiuchus appears overhead in June around midnight and in the October evening sky.[citation needed]
Features
Stars
The brightest stars in Ophiuchus include
RS Ophiuchi is part of a class called recurrent novae, whose brightness increase 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.[19] It erupts around every 15 years and usually has a magnitude of around 5.0 during eruptions, most recently in 2021.[20][21]
In April 2007,
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The constellation Ophiuchus as it can be seen by naked eye[38]
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Johannes Kepler's drawing depicting the location of the stella nova in the foot of Ophiuchus
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Hercules and Ophiuchus, 1602 by Willem Blaeu
Deep-sky objects
Ophiuchus contains several
The unusual
In 2006, a new nearby
Barnard 68 is a large dark nebula, located 410 light-years from Earth. Despite its diameter of 0.4 light-years, Barnard 68 only has twice the mass of the Sun, making it both very diffuse and very cold, with a temperature of about 16 kelvins. Though it is currently stable, Barnard 68 will eventually collapse, inciting the process of star formation. One unusual feature of Barnard 68 is its vibrations, which have a period of 250,000 years. Astronomers speculate that this phenomenon is caused by the shock wave from a supernova.[48] Barnard 68 has blocked thousands of stars visible at other wavelengths[52] and the distribution of dust in Barnard 68 has been mapped.[53][54]
The space probe
In November 2022, the USA's
History and mythology
There is no evidence of the constellation preceding the classical era, and in Babylonian astronomy, a "Sitting Gods" constellation seems to have been located in the general area of Ophiuchus. However, Gavin White proposes that Ophiuchus may in fact be remotely descended from this Babylonian constellation, representing Nirah, a serpent-god who was sometimes depicted with his upper half human but with serpents for legs.[57]
The earliest mention of the constellation is in Aratus, informed by the lost catalogue of Eudoxus of Cnidus (4th century BCE):[58]
To the Phantom's back the Crown is near, but by his head mark near at hand the head of Ophiuchus, and then from it you can trace the starlit Ophiuchus himself: so brightly set beneath his head appear his gleaming shoulders. They would be clear to mark even at the midmonth moon, but his hands are not at all so bright; for faint runs the gleam of stars along on this side and on that. Yet they too can be seen, for they are not feeble. Both firmly clutch the Serpent, which encircles the waist of Ophiuchus, but he, steadfast with both his feet well set, tramples a huge monster, even the Scorpion, standing upright on his eye and breast. Now the Serpent is wreathed about his two hands – a little above his right hand, but in many folds high above his left.[59]
To the
Later myths identified Ophiuchus with
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Ophiuchus in a manuscript copy ofSerpens Caudaon the right).
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Ophiuchus holding the serpent, Serpens, as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c. 1825. Above the tail of the serpent is the now-obsolete constellation Taurus Poniatovii while below it is Scutum.
Zodiac
Ophiuchus is one of the thirteen constellations that cross the
Citations
- ^ "Star Tales – Ophiuchus". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ Ford, Dominic. "The Constellation Ophiuchus – In-The-Sky.org". in-the-sky.org. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ISBN 1-55407-147-X.
- ISBN 1-55407-147-X.
- ^ Ford, Dominic. "Rasalhague (Star)". in-the-sky.org. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ISBN 0-307-13667-1).
- CDS. ID V/50.
- doi:10.1086/110819
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- ^ Chartrand, at p. 170.
- S2CID 14531031
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- S2CID 14376211.
- ^ "Star 'soon to become supernova'". BBC News. 23 July 2006.
- ^ "[vsnet-alert 26131] Outburst of RS Ophiuchi". ooruri.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "ATel #14834: Fermi-LAT Gamma-ray Detection of the Recurrent Nova RS Oph". ATel. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2019.
- S2CID 234741985.
- S2CID 17926580.
- S2CID 15880053.
- Bibcode:1976JBIS...29..101B. Archived from the originalon 20 October 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2006.
- ^ Darling, David (July 2005). "Daedalus, Project". The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight. Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
- PhysOrg.com. 13 January 2006. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ "Molecular Oxygen Detected for the First Time in the Interstellar Medium". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- doi:10.1086/522830.
- ^ "Kepler's Supernova: Recently Observed Supernova". Universe for Facts. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- S2CID 4360404.
- S2CID 15288792.
- S2CID 118774018. L11.
- ^ "Asteroid To Hide Naked-Eye Star". 31 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "Asteroid To Hide Bright Star". 31 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "(824) Anastasia / HIP 81377 event on 2010 Apr 06, 10:21 UT". Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer – Constellations – Digital Images of the Sky".
- .
- ^ Levy 2005, pp. 153–54.
- .
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- ISBN 978-0486235684.
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- S2CID 118515997
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- ^ ISBN 978-1-55407-175-3.
- ^
Komossa, Stefanie; Burwitz, Vadim; Hasinger, Guenther; Predehl, Peter; et al. (2003). "Discovery of a Binary Active Galactic Nucleus in the Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy NGC 6240 Using Chandra". S2CID 16697327.
- S2CID 14070978.
- S2CID 15570695.
- ^ "The Dark Cloud B68 at Different Wavelengths". European Southern Observatory. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^
Alves, João; Lada, Charles; Lada, Elizabeth (March 2001). "Seeing the light through the dark" (PDF). The Messenger. 103: 15–20. Bibcode:2001Msngr.103....1A.
- ^
Alves, João F.; Lada, Charles J.; Lada, Elizabeth A. (January 2001). "Internal structure of a cold dark molecular cloud inferred from the extinction of background starlight". Nature. 409 (6817): 159–161. S2CID 4318459.
- ^ Coordinates available at The Sky Live.
- National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), 2022-11-04
- ^ White, Gavin; Babylonian Star-lore, Solaria Pubs, 2008, p. 187f
- ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "ὀφιοῦχος". A Greek-English Lexicon. perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ translation by Mair, Alexander W.; & Mair, Gilbert R.; Loeb Classical Library, volume 129, William Heinemann, London, 1921 theoi.com
- ^ ISBN 9780596526856.
- ^ Hyginus, Astronomica 2, 14, Latin Mythography, 2nd century AD
- ^ "Snake-Charmer". Brickthology. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Manuscript reproduction". Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ Maunder, Edward Walter; Astronomy of the Bible, 1908, p. 164f
- ^ Shapiro, Lee T. "Constellations in the zodiac", in The Space Place (NASA, last updated 22 July 2011)
- ^ "Ophiuchus, 13th constellation of zodiac". Earth Sky. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Gleason, Edward. "Why is the vernal equinox called the "First Point of Aries" when the Sun is actually in Pisces on this date? | Planetarium". University of Southern Maine. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Campbell, Tina (15 July 2020). "Has your star sign changed following the discovery of a 'new' Zodiac sign?". Metro. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "Ophiuchus – a 13th Zodiac Sign? No!". Astrology Club. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "Born under the sign of Ophiuchus?". EarthSky.org. 16 August 2021.
- Bibcode:1942ASPL....4..103A.
- ^ Redd, Nola Taylor. "Constellations: The Zodiac Constellation Names". space.com. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
See also
- Ophiuchus (Chinese astronomy)
References
- Levy, David H. (2005). Deep Sky Objects. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-361-0.
- Ridpath, Ian; and Tirion, Wil; (2007) Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London; ISBN 978-0-691-13556-4