Most likely once a member of a binary star system, Zeta Ophiuchi had a companion star. Unfortunately, its companion star was more massive, which meant that it was shorter lived. The companion star exploded as a supernova, and Zeta Ophiuchi, which was blown away by the explosion, became a runaway star.
Zeta Ophiuchi is a star about 20 times the mass of our Sun. Found 460 light-years away, it moves toward the left at a speed of 24 kilometers per second.
Zeta Oph is 65,000 times more luminous than the Sun and would be one of the brighter stars in the sky if it weren't surrounded by obscuring dust.
This image was captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope, which retired recently after 16 years of aiding us in the exploration of the cosmos.
(Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Spitzer Space Telescope)