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Oph - Ophiuchus the Serpent Handler

  • Aql - Aquila the Eagle

    IAU Constellation
    Aql - Aquila the Eagle

    Size

    22 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    Between Cygnus and Sagittarius, with Altair (its brightest star) making the south end of the Summer Triangle (along with Deneb of Cygnus and Vega of Lyra). As the night sky changes, Aquila the Eagle and Cygnus the Swan swing slowly westward across the sky towards the horizon. The Eagle sets tail first, followed closely by the Swan, who dives beak first below the western horizon.

  • Her - Hercules the Hero

    IAU Constellation
    Her - Hercules the Hero

    Size

    5 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Located between Ophiuchus and Draco. Look for the Keystone, a trapezoid of four stars.

  • Lib - Libra the Balance

    IAU Constellation
    Lib - Libra the Balance

    Size

    29 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Zodiac
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Libra is the only inanimate object in the zodiac. It was associated with the scales held by the goddess of justice. 

  • Oph - Ophiuchus, the Serpent Handler

    IAU Constellation
    Oph - Ophiuchus the Serpent Handler

    Size

    11 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Zodiac
    Southern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    Between Scorpius and Hercules.

  • Sgr - Sagittarius the Archer

    IAU Constellation
    Sgr - Sagittarius the Archer

    Size

    15 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Zodiac
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Look for teapot pattern to the east of Scorpius, complete with handle, lid, and spout. Tea pouring from the spout would indicate the direction of the center of Milky Way, and the entire constellation is rich with many stars. Try binoculars in the area where clusters gather like steam rising from the teapot.

    Centaur, half-man and half-horse, shooting an arrow. If you cannot see a creature half-man and half-horse in these stars, then try looking for a teapot. Four stars make the pot... Two stars form a handle... One star is a lid... And the tip of the bowman’s arrow makes a spout.

  • Sco - Scorpius the Scorpion

    IAU Constellation
    Sco - Scorpius the Scorpion

    Size

    33 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Zodiac
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    East of Virgo along the ecliptic the constellation Scorpius creeps above the treetops, with his menacing tail below, and stinger above. Continue eastward along the ecliptic to the next constellation, Sagittarius the Archer.

  • Ser - Serpens the Snake

    IAU Constellation
    Ser - Serpens the Snake

    Size

    23 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern
    Equatorial
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Located in the hands of Ophiuchus, Serpens is the only constellation divided into two parts: Serpens Caput (=head) and Serpens Cauda (=tail), with Ophiuchus between them.

  • December 24

    Fusion image

     

    Christmas eve.  Kepler’s nova. Conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, massing of Mars.

     

    Constellation
    Oph - Ophiuchus the Serpent Handler

    Chet Raymo, 365 Starry Nights

    214
    Astronomy Picture of the Day
    StarDate
    Monthly Sky Map
    Permission
    Public domain

    Attribution

    Kerry Magruder and Brent Purkaple

  • Urania's Mirror (1825) card: Ophiuchus

    Image

    UM-1825-Ophiuchus-Serpens

    Urania's Mirror (1825) card: Ophiuchus (Serpentarius), Serpens, Scutum, Taurus Poniatowski

  • Urania's Mirror (1825) figure: Ophiuchus

    Image

    UM-1825-Ophiuchus

    Urania's Mirror (1825) figure: Ophiuchus (Serpentarius)

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IAU Constellation Main Page

Tau - Taurus the Bull

IAU Constellation
Tau - Taurus the Bull

Size

17 of 88
Astronomical Regions
Zodiac
Northern
Equatorial

Intro and Visual description

Taurus the Bull is easily spotted. Its head is the Hyades, a V-shaped cluster of stars. His horns point outward from the V. Aldebaran is the red eye of the Bull as he charges down upon us.

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Kerry Magruder, Brent Purkaple, and Aja Tolman, editors, "The Sky Tonight: Cultural Archaeology of the Stars" (December 21, 2019 - ongoing), skytonight.org.


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