Yellow giant · Ophiuchus

Yed Posterior

Also known as: ε Ophiuchi (ε Oph), HIP 79882

mag 3.2110 light-years

About

Yed Posterior (ε Ophiuchi) is a yellow giant of magnitude 3.2 in Ophiuchus, about 110 light-years away.

Yed Posterior is in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Best evenings: around mid-July it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 75° N.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Yed Posterior
Designation	ε Ophiuchi (ε Oph)
Hipparcos number	HIP 79882
Type	Yellow giant
Spectral type	G8III
Colour	Pale orangeB−V colour index 0.97
Magnitude	3.2The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	110 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1920.
Proper motion	0.092″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Ophiuchus
Right ascension (J2000)	16h 18m 19.3s
Declination (J2000)	−04° 41′ 33″