Cebalrai is an orange giant in the shoulder of Ophiuchus, near Rasalhague, its Arabic name meaning the shepherd’s dog.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 81.8 light-years (25.1 pc) |
| its light left it | 81.8 years ago |
| luminosity | 61.4 × the Sun |
| radius | 11.2 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 4,830 K |
| constellation | Ophiuchus (Serpent Bearer) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Cebalrai
Cebalrai, Beta Ophiuchi, is an orange giant, a star that has finished burning hydrogen in its core and swollen to many times the Sun’s width, its surface cooler than the Sun’s.
The name comes from the Arabic for the shepherd’s dog, part of an older Arabic picture of a shepherd and his flock in this region of sky. In the modern figure it marks a shoulder of the Serpent Bearer.
What you see in the piece
Its orange colour in the piece stands beside the white of Rasalhague, the hotter star nearby on the sky.
Questions
How far away is Cebalrai?
Cebalrai is 81.8 light-years (25.1 pc) from the Sun.
What does Cebalrai mean?
It comes from the Arabic for the shepherd’s dog.