Gamma Ophiuchi

Gamma Ophiuchi, Latinized from γ Ophiuchi, formally named Bake-eo, is a fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Ophiuchus. Together with Beta Ophiuchi, it forms the serpent-holder's right shoulder. The star is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.75. Based upon an annual parallax shift of as seen from Earth, it is located 103 light-years from the Sun. It is moving closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of −7.6 km/s.

Nomenclature

This star is known also as Muliphen, although at least two more stars are known with this name: Gamma Canis Majoris and Gamma Centauri. Muliphein is the IAU-approved name of Gamma Canis Majoris.
This star has the Marshallese name Bake-eo, which refers to the spondylus mussel. The IAU Working Group on Star Names approved the name Bake-eo for γ Ophiuchi on 20 August 2024 and it is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.
In Chinese astronomy, β Ophiuchi and γ Ophiuchi form the asterism Zongzheng, which was transliterated as Tsung Ching by R. H. Allen.

This is an A-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of A0 V. Gray et al. lists a classification of A1VnkA0mA0, indicating it is of type A1 V with the calcium K-line and metallic lines of an A0 star. It is approximately 184 million years old and is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of 220 km/s. Gamma Ophiuchi has nearly three times the mass of the Sun and 1.8 times the Sun's radius. The star shines with 29 times the luminosity of the Sun, which is being emitted from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of. It is radiating an excess emission of infrared, suggesting the presence of a circumstellar disk of dust at an orbital radius of 64 AU from the host star. The disk was imaged in 2025.