Ophiuchus is really a large constellation located round the celestial equator. Its name is Greek (?f??????) for 'serpent-bearer', which is commonly represented like a man grasping the snake that's represented through the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was among the 48 constellations listed through the second-century astronomer Ptolemy, also it remains among the 88 modern constellations. It had been formerly known as Serpentarius English pronunciation: /?s?rp?n't??ri?s/, a Latin word meaning just like its current name.
Location
It's located between Aquila, Serpens and Hercules, northwest from the center from the Milky Way. The southern part lies between Scorpius towards the west and Sagittarius towards the east. It's best visible within the northern summer and located opposite Orion on the horizon. Ophiuchus is depicted like a man grasping a serpent; the interposition of his body divides the snake constellation Serpens into two parts, Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, that are nonetheless counted as you constellation.
Stars
The brightest stars in Ophiuchus incorporate a Ophiuchi, called Rasalhague (in the figure's head), and ? Ophiuchi.
RS Ophiuchi is a component of the class called recurrent novae, whose brightness increase at irregular intervals by countless times inside a amount of just a couple days. It's regarded as in the brink to become a type-1a supernova.
Barnard's Star, among the nearest stars towards the Solar System (the only real stars closer would be the Alpha Centauri binary star system and Proxima Centauri), is based on Ophiuchus. (It's located left of ß and north from the V-shaped number of stars within an area which was once occupied through the now-obsolete constellation of Taurus Poniatovii, Poniatowski's Bull.)
In 2005, astronomers using data in the Green Bank Telescope discovered a superbubble so large it extends beyond the plane from the galaxy. It's known as the Ophiuchus Superbubble.
In April 2007, astronomers announced how the Swedish-built Odin satellite had made the very first detection of clouds of molecular oxygen in space, following observations within the constellation Ophiuchus.
The supernova of 1604 was initially observed on October 9, 1604, near ? Ophiuchi. Johannes Kepler first viewed it first on October 16 and studied it so extensively how the supernova was subsequently called Kepler's Supernova. He published his findings inside a book titled De stella nova in pede Serpentarii (About the New Star in Ophiuchus' Foot). Galileo used its brief appearance to counter the Aristotelian dogma how the heavens are changeless.
In approximately 40,000 years Voyager 1 probe will pass within 1.6 many years from the star AC+79 3888, that is positioned in Ophiuchus.
Last year it had been announced that GJ 1214, a star in Ophiuchus, undergoes repeated, cyclical dimming having a amount of about 1.Five days in conjuction with the transit of the small orbiting planet. Further, the authors conclude how the planet should have a minimal density in line with vast quantities of water. The proximity of the star to Earth (42 many years) causes it to be a tempting target for more astronomic observations.
In April 2010, the naked-eye star ? Ophiuchi was occulted by 824 Anastasia.
Deep-sky objects
Ophiuchus contains several star clusters, for example IC 4665, NGC 6633, M9, M10, M12, M14, M19, M62, and M107, along with the nebula IC 4603-4604. The unusual galaxy merger remnant NGC 6240 can also be in Ophiuchus. In 2006, a brand new nearby star cluster was discovered linked to the 4th magnitude star Mu Ophiuchi. The Mamajek 2 cluster seems to be an undesirable cluster remnant analogous towards the Ursa Major Moving Group, but 7 times more distant (approximately 170 parsecs away). Mamajek 2 seems to have formed within the same star-forming complex since the NGC 2516 cluster roughly 135 million in years past.
Mythology
There exist numerous theories regarding whom the figure represents.
The newest interpretation would be that the figure represents the healer Asclepius, who learned the strategies of keeping death away after observing one serpent bringing another healing herbs. To avoid the whole people from becoming immortal under Asclepius' care, Zeus killed him having a bolt of lightning, but later placed his image within the heavens to honor his good works. It's been noted how the constellation Ophiuchus is near to those of Sagittarius, that has sometimes been thought to represent Chiron (the mentor of Asclepius and several other Greek demigods), though Chiron was originally linked to the constellation Centaurus.
Another possibility would be that the figure represents the Trojan priest Laocoön, who had been killed with a set of sea serpents sent through the gods after he warned the Trojans to not accept the Trojan Horse. The wedding seemed to be memorialized through the sculptors Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus within the famous marble sculpture Laocoön and the Sons, which stands within the Vatican Museums.
Another possibility is Apollo wrestling using the Python to consider charge of the oracle at Delphi.
A fourth may be the story of Phorbas, a Thessalonian who rescued the folks from the island of Rhodes from the plague of serpents and was granted a location on the horizon honoring this deed.
Based on Gavin White, Ophiuchus may represent the Babylonian constellation the Sitting Gods (Mul.Dingir.Tush.A.Mesh), which he proposes was originally an individual figure whose legs happen to be replaced through the tail of the huge serpent.
Astrology
Despite crossing the ecliptic, Ophiuchus isn't contained in standard astrological zodiacs, which divide the ecliptic into abstract 30-degree segments (for twelve equal signs), that are named following the constellations. Science questions whether these segments map straight to the heavens on the horizon, claiming when they did, Ophiuchus will be a thirteenth person in the zodiac.
Although based on astrologists and also the tilt from the Earth's axis, the horoscope signs happen to be shifted and Ophiuchus has become considered the thirteenth astrological sign.
Symbol
The Rod of Asclepius is usually used like a symbol for Ophiuchus.
The Ophiuchus symbol utilized in Japanese astrology.
Two symbols happen to be proposed for Ophiuchus, one in line with the Rod of Asclepius (Unicode ?, U+2695) and also the other generally use within Japanese astrology (Unicode ?, U+26CE).
Since Ophiuchus is identified with Asclepius, the Rod of Asclepius is usually used like a symbol for Ophiuchus. In Japan, an astrological symbol for Ophiuchus is within widespread use. The symbol is sufficiently present with be contained in emoji.
