Ophiuchus constellation lies in the southern sky, near the celestial equator. Its name means “the serpent bearer” in Greek.
It is pronounced /ˌɒfiːˈjuːkəs/ (off-ee-YOO-cuss). The constellation is associated with the figure of Asclepius, the famous healer in Greek mythology. It was one of the constellations first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Sometimes, it is also known by its Latin name, Serpentarius. Ophiuchus is generally depicted as a man holding a snake, represented by the neighboring constellation Serpens, which is divided into two parts by Ophiuchus: Serpens Caput, the snake’s head, and Serpens Cauda, the snake’s tail. The snake is usually depicted coiled around his waist.
Even though Ophiuchus is one of the constellations that cross the ecliptic and there have been attempts to include it among the signs of the zodiac, it does not belong to the Zodiac family, but to the Hercules family of constellations.
Ophiuchus contains a number of notable stars, including Rasalhague, Barnard’s Star, and Kepler’s Supernova, and many famous deep sky objects, including the Twin Jet Nebula, the Little Ghost Nebula, the dark nebulae Barnard 68, the Pipe Nebula, the Snake Nebula, and the Dark Horse Nebula, and the globular clusters Messier 9, Messier 10, Messier 12, Messier 14, Messier 19, Messier 62, and Messier 107.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Ophiuchus is the 11th largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 948 square degrees. It is located in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +80° and -80°. The neighboring constellations are Aquila, Hercules, Libra, Sagittarius, Scorpius and Serpens.
The brightest star in the constellation is Rasalhague, Alpha Ophiuchi, with an apparent magnitude of 2.08. There are four meteor showers associated with the constellation: the Ophiuchids, the Northern May Ophiuchids, the Southern May Ophiuchids and the Theta Ophiuchids.
Ophiuchus belongs to the Hercules family of constellations, along with Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Sagitta, Scutum, Sextans, Serpens, Triangulum Australe and Vulpecula.
Ophiuchus contains seven Messier objects: Messier 9 (M9, NGC 6333), Messier 10 (M10, NGC 6254), Messier 12 (M12, NGC 6218), Messier 14 (M14, NGC 6402), Messier 19 (M19, NGC 6273), Messier 62 (M62, NGC 6266) and Messier 107 (M107, NGC 6171). It also has seven stars with known planets.
MYTH
Ophiuchus is most frequently associated with the Greek mythical figure of Asclepius, son of the god Apollo, who was said to be able to bring people back from the dead with his healing powers. Asclepius learned how to do this after seeing one snake bringing healing herbs to another. This happened when Glaucus, the son of King Minos of Crete, fell into a jar of honey and drowned. Asclepius saw a snake slithering toward his body and killed it. Then another snake came along and placed a herb on the first one, which miraculously brought the first snake back to life. Asclepius saw this and took the same herb and placed it on Glaucus’ body. The king’s son was miraculously resurrected.
Asclepius was raised by Chiron, the wise centaur, associated with Centaurus constellation, who taught him the art of healing. In one of the myths, Asclepius was given the blood of the Gorgon Medusa by the goddess Athene. The Gorgon’s blood from the veins on her left side was poison, but the blood from the veins on the right side was said to be able to bring people back to life.
In another tale, Asclepius resurrected Theseus’ son Hippolytus after the king’s son was thrown from his chariot. In this version of the myth, Hippolytus is associated with Auriga constellation, the charioteer.
The healer was killed by Zeus because the god was worried that the human race would become immortal with Asclepius around to heal them. Zeus’ brother Hades, the god of the Underworld, was concerned that the flow of dead souls into his domain would dry up as a result of Asclepius’ healing ability. Hades complained about this to Zeus and the thunder god killed the healer with a bolt of lightning. Zeus later placed Asclepius’ image in the sky to honour his gift and good deeds. The healer became the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer.
Ophiuchus constellation may be descended from an ancient Babylonian constellation that represented the serpent-god Nirah, who was sometimes depicted as a hybrid being, with a human head and torso, and serpents for legs. This theory, however, has not been confirmed by sufficient evidence.
The constellation got a notable mention in John Milton’s Book 2 of Paradise Lost, in which Satan was compared to a comet “that fries the length of Ophiuchus huge/In th’ arctic sky.”
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