Although designated as a variable star, observations with the Hipparcos satellite showed a variation of no more than 0.02 in magnitude. In designating this as a suspected variable star, it is possible that Kappa Ophiuchi was mistaken for Chi Ophiuchi, which is a variable star. Kappa Ophiuchi belongs to an evolutionary branch known as the red clump, making it a clump giant. The surface abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium, what astronomers term the star's metallicity, is similar to the abundances of those elements in the Sun.
