Ophiuchus the Serpent Holder
An
ancient constellation, depicting a man encolied by a serpent
(constellation of Serpens). He is identified as a mythological healer
and forerunner of Hippocrates . He served as a ship’s doctor aboard
the Argo.
Probably
the most famous star in Ophiuchus is one that cannot be seen without
binoculars or telescopes this is Barnard’s star a 9th
magnitude star only 6.1 light years away, the fourth closest to the
Sun after the 3 stars in the alpha centauri group. It was found by
Edward Emmerson Barnard in 1916. It is a red dwarf star.
Ophiuchus
is also in the zodiac this is the area of sky where we will always
find the planets, yet very few astrologers seem to mention it.
The
constellation covers a large area the brightest star alpha is known
as Ras Alhague which means ‘Head of the Serpent Charmer’ it has
a magnitude of mag 2.1 and is an A5 giant with a surface temperature
of lying at a distance of 47 light years temp 7,500’C
Beta
or Alrai which means ‘Shepherd’s Dog’ is a magnitude mag 2.8
star lying 82 light years away. Alrai ia a K2 giant star with a
surface temperature of 4,100’C
Gamma
at magnitude 3.8 is an AO class star with a temperature of 9,300 ‘C
and is 102 light years away.
Delta
or Yed Prior which means ‘Hand’ is of magnitude 2.8 and is a M0
red giant with a temperature of 3,400’C lying at a distance of 171
light years.
Epsilon
or Yed Posterior which means the ‘Following star of the Hand’ is
106 light years away. Epsilon is a Gp giant star with a temperature
of 4,600’C. Its magnitude is 3.2.
Eta
is of magnitude 2.4 ans is 88 light years away. It is an type A1 star
with a temperature of 9,600’C
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