Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer,
sprawls his way across the center of the picture, his
brightest star, Rasalhague (Alpha), at top center. (The reddish glow is
coming from reflection by light clouds.) Just down and to the
right of Rasalhague is Rasalgethi in Hercules, a bit down and to the
left Cebalrai (Beta), and down and to left of Cebalrai is Muliphen
(Gamma). Ophiuchus is
a distorted pentagon-shaped figure, its bottom starting with
two stars close together toward lower center
(Yed Prior, at right, and Yed Posterior) and running to the left
through Zeta Ophiuchi and ending in bright Sabik.
Marfik, Lambda Oph, is up and just to the right of Yed Prior.
Theta Oph (seen in the context of the Milky Way west of
Sagittarius)
is the brightest of the string of four stars near the
lower left corner; Xi is about mid-way between it and Sabik.
Rho Oph, the brighter of the two stars
near the left lower edge, is better seen in
the context of Scorpius whose bright star
Antares is near the bottom left. 67 and 70 Oph are in v-shaped
"Poniatowski's Bull" up and to the left of Cebalrai
(as is invisible Barnard's Star). Kappa Oph is the brighter of the pair down and to the
left of Rasalhague, while Chi is the middle star of the near-vertical trio below Zeta.
Mu Oph, to the left of center, is the second star directly above Sabik,
while Nu Oph is up and to the left of Mu.Coming off the bottom and swinging up to both the right and left are two streams of stars that make the divided figure of Serpens, the Serpent. The stream to the left is Serpens Cauda, the Serpent's Tail, that to the right Serpens Caput, the Serpent's Head. Unukalhai, the brightest star in Serpens Caput, is the bright star toward the lower right. Delta Ser is to the right and just up from it, while Beta Ser and Gamma Ser are progressively upward from Delta. Epsilon Ser is immediately to the left of Unukalhai. Kappa Ser lies in the middle of the Serpent's head immediately to the right of Gamma Ser. Xi Ser is up and to the left of Sabik. Serpens Cauda continues upward off the picture and ends in Alya, near Aquila. The Milky Way in Scutum and Sagittarius run downward at left.
