The little-known 13th constellation of the zodiac rolls across the sky this evening. It’s in the southwest as night falls, and begins to set after midnight. It covers such a huge chunk of sky, though, that it takes several hours for the whole thing to drop below the horizon. Ophiuchus is known as the serpent bearer. It represents Asclepius, a son of Apollo and the god of medicine in ancient Greece. His healing powers were so great, the legend says, that he could even resurrect the dead. That was bad for business for Hades, the god of the underworld. So he convinced Zeus, the king of the gods, to smite Asclepius with a lightning bolt. But that angered Apollo, so Zeus made Asclepius immortal by placing him in the stars. The modern constellation incorporates much more than just the original connect-the-stars picture of the serpent bearer. It covers a large, jagged patch of sky that extends almost all the way down to Antares, the heart of Scorpius, and the teapot shape of Sagittarius. The
