| dist_ly =
| dist_pc =
| absmag_v = −6.0[3]
}}{{Starbox detail
| temperature=34,000[4]
| gravity=3.5[4]
| rotational_velocity=35[4]-86[15]
}}{{Starbox catalog
|names={{odlist|F=63 Oph|CD=-24° 13615|HD=162978|HIP=87706|HR=6672|SAO=185928}}
}}{{Starbox reference
|Simbad=63+Oph
}}{{Starbox end}}63 Ophiuchi is an O-type giant star in the constellation Sagittarius, despite its name. During a 2009 survey for companions of massive stars, it was observed using speckle interferometry but no companion was found.[16] Uncertain negative parallax measurements of –0.77 ± 0.40 mas suggest that this extremely luminous star may be located about 4000 light-years away. An estimate of the distance based on the strength of the Ca II line yields a more modest value of {{Convert|2605|ly|pc|abbr=on}}.[17] The star lies only 0.3° north of the galactic plane.
In 1983, astronomers from the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in Moscow, Russia identified a faint, shell-shaped nebula surrounding the star that was being excited by the star's energy. Named Sharpless 22, this ring-shaped nebula has a double-shell structure with an inner envelope spanning 45–50′ (9–18 pc), surrounded by a diffuse envelope some 65–80′ (14–29 pc) across. At an estimated mass loss rate of {{nowrap|(6–8) × 10−6 {{Solar mass|link=y}}/yr}}, it would take the star about {{nowrap|(1–5) × 105 years}} to produce such a nebula from the outflow of its stellar wind.[18]
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