OPHIUCHUS

Ophiuchus (Οφιούχος IPA: /ˌɒfiːˈuːkəs/) is one of the 88 constellations and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. Ophiuchus was formerly referred to as Serpentarius (/ˌsɚpənˈtɛəriəs/), the former originating in Greek and the latter in Latin, both meaning "serpent-holder". It is a large constellation located around the celestial equator between Aquila, Serpens and Hercules, northwest of the center of the Milky Way. The southern part lies between Scorpius to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign.

It is best visible in the northern summer and located opposite Orion in the sky. Ophiuchus is depicted as a man grasping a serpent; the interposition of his body divides the snake constellation Serpens into two parts, Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, which are nonetheless counted as one constellation.

The brightest stars in Ophiuchus include α Ophiuchi, called Rasalhague (at the figure's head), and η Ophiuchi.

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.

Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Solar System (the only stars closer are the Alpha Centauri binary system and Proxima Centauri), lies in Ophiuchus. (It is located to the left of β and just north of the V-shaped group of stars in an area that was once occupied by the now-obsolete constellation of Taurus Poniatovii, Poniatowski's Bull.)

In April 2007, astronomers announced that the Swedish-built Odin satellite had made the first detection of clouds of molecular oxygen in space, following observations in the constellation Ophiuchus.

In approximately 40,000 years Voyager 1 probe will pass within 1.6 light years of the star AC+79 3888, which is located in Ophiuchus.

Rho Ophiuchus Nebula Complex

This amazing complex of nebulosity revealed on long exposure color photographs is one of the most beautiful areas of the entire night sky.

It contains dark nebulae where lanes of obscuring dust hide background stars, blue reflection nebulae where the dust is illuminated by nearby stars and red emission nebulae where the hot hydrogen gas itself is glowing.

Also visible is a rare orange/yellow reflection nebula around the red-giant star Antares which is the overexposed object just to the left and slightly below the center of the photo.

Globular cluster M4 is just to the right. Rho Ophiuchi is the triple-star surrounded by IC 4604, the large blue reflection nebula at the top of the photo. Emission nebula Sh2-9 is at right.

Serpentarius

En la mitología griega Ofiuco corresponde con Asclepio, hijo del dios Apolo y la humana Corónide. Éste desarrolló tal habilidad en medicina, que se decía que era capaz incluso de resucitar a los muertos. Muy ofendido por ello, Hades pidió a Zeus que lo matara por violar el orden natural de las cosas, a lo que Zeus accedió. Sin embargo, como homenaje a su valía, decidió situarlo en el cielo rodeado por la serpiente, símbolo de la vida renovada.

Ofiuco no está reconocida dentro del zodíaco debido a que, a pesar de que ya se conocía en la antigüedad cuando se formularon las reglas de la astrología, hace 3.000 años estaba lejos de la eclíptica. Pero con la precesión de los equinoccios se ha ido introduciendo entre Sagitario y Escorpio, de manera que durante la primera quincena de diciembre el Sol entra en este supuesto signo, no siendo reconocida como constelación por los más reconocidos astrólogos.

Teniendo en cuenta que no existe ningún organismo regulador de ésta, hay casi tantas interpretaciones al respecto como astrólogos. Al tratarse de una creencia muy antigua, sus reglas no contemplan los cambios que ha sufrido la astronomía a lo largo del tiempo, como el descubrimiento de los planetas exteriores del Sistema Solar (Urano, Neptuno y Plutón), la precesión, los nuevos objetos (cúmulos, púlsares, quásares, etc.), o los supuestos nuevos signos como Ofiuco y Ballena.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus

OPHIUCHUS