Ophiuchus, representing a serpent-bearer, is a large constellation in the summer evening sky, situated just north of the more prominent Scorpius and south of Hercules. Although Ophiuchus possesses two second-magnitude stars (Rasalhague and Sabik) and Hercules has none brighter than magnitude three, the latter is easier to identify in the sky due to its more distinctive pattern. On the western and eastern ends of Ophiuchus are, respectively, the two constellations Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, representing the snake/serpent he is holding. Ophiuchus technically lies in that belt of the sky known as the Zodiac...the sun, moon, and planets pass through it between Scorpius and Sagittarius. In fact, it is believed that in ancient times it was the thirteenth Zodiac constellation, but that it was kicked out of the "club" when the formerly sacred number "13" was relegated to taboo status with a change in religion. My take on it is that if you go back thousands of years, you're going to observe a vastly different configuration of stars in the sky, due to their motions relative to Earth over that span...so how could anyone come to that conclusion about a current star pattern? Anyway, Ophiuchus contains several Messier objects: M9, M10, M12, and M14, M19, M62, and M107...all of them globular clusters. I have a telescope that I try to take outside to observe the night sky when I'm off from work, but I'm kind of clumsy in getting it properly trained on specific objects smaller than the moon. And it seems that in recent weeks the night sky here in north-central Florida has been consistently cloudy and I've either been working or tired when at home...but the heavens can wait until my Earthly conditions improve, I suppose...
Next month I highlight another constellation...
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