Ophiuchus

The Serpent Bearer

A large summer constellation straddling the celestial equator, with the Sun passing through it for about two weeks each December, and Barnard's Star, one of our closest neighbors.

Chart drawn as the sky looks when you face the constellation: north is up and east is to the left. Dot size shows brightness, and color hints at temperature. The connecting lines are one common stick figure; other traditions draw them differently.

Best season: Summer
Best months: June through August, in the south on summer evenings
Visibility: Visible from everywhere in the United States, though the lower part stays low in the south
Abbreviation: Oph

How to find it

Look for Rasalhague, a modestly bright star near Hercules's head star Rasalgethi. Together they mark the two heads.
From Rasalhague a large, roughly kite-shaped figure stretches south toward Scorpius, with the bearer's feet resting near Antares.

Brightest stars

Rasalhague (the head of the Serpent Bearer)
Sabik
Cebalrai
Han

What to look for

The size of the figure. It covers a big stretch of the summer sky between Hercules and Scorpius.
M10 and M12, two globular clusters visible as fuzzy patches in binoculars.

Binocular and telescope targets

M10 and M12: two bright globular clusters, visible in binoculars
Barnard's Star: a faint red dwarf only about six light-years away, which needs a telescope and a good chart
Kepler's Supernova remnant: the remains of a star seen exploding in 1604

Using it to find other things

Ophiuchus sits between Hercules and Scorpius. The serpent Serpens is split into two parts, one on each side of the Bearer.

About this constellation

Ophiuchus is a big constellation with no really bright stars, so it takes a dark sky to trace the whole figure. The best way in is Rasalhague, which sits close to Hercules's head star.

The Sun passes through Ophiuchus from about November 30 to December 17, but it is not one of the traditional twelve zodiac signs. That makes it a popular trivia question.

Barnard's Star in Ophiuchus is one of the nearest stars to the Sun and has the largest apparent motion across the sky of any star. It is too faint to see without a telescope.

Related guides

Visibility depends on your latitude, the date, and the time of night. The months above assume a typical evening from the contiguous United States, so use a planetarium app to confirm what is up tonight. Never look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope without a proper solar filter.

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