Arabic star names / Rasalhague
Rasalhague
رأس الحواء
Rasalhague comes from the Arabic رأس الحواء (Raʾs al-Ḥawwāʾ), which means “the snake-charmer's head”. It is the 60th-brightest star in the sky, in Ophiuchus.
- Brightness
- 2.08
- Colour
- white
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Best seen
- July evenings
- Right ascension
- 17h 35m
- Declination
- +12° 34′
The name
It marks the head of Ophiuchus, the man who holds a serpent, al-Ḥawwāʾ.
Where you can see it
It rises everywhere north of 77°S. From Riyadh it climbs to 78° above the horizon. From London it climbs to 51° above the horizon. From Sydney it climbs to 44° above the horizon.
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