Discoveries announced in early 2011 show that Ophiuchi is moving through space at 85,000km/h, having likely been ejected from orbit around a more massive star that was destroyed in its own supernova blast. Due to this high proper motion in combination with high intrinsic brightness and its current location in a dust-rich area of the galaxy, the star is creating a bow-shock in the direction of motion. This shock has been made visible via NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.
Zeta Ophiuchi
