Serpens constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. Its name means “the serpent” in Latin. Serpens is one of the Greek constellations, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
The constellation is divided into two parts by Ophiuchus, the snake bearer: Serpens Caput, representing the serpent’s head, and Serpens Cauda, the serpent’s tail.
Serpens contains one of the best known nebulae in the sky, the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16), which in turn contains the Pillars of Creation, a star-forming region famously imaged by Hubble. Other notable deep sky objects in the constellation include the large globular cluster Messier 5, the emission nebula IC 4703, Seyfert’s Sextet of galaxies, the ring galaxy known as Hoag’s Object, the Red Square Nebula, and the Serpens South star cluster.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Serpens is the 23rd constellation in size, occupying an area of 637 square degrees. Serpens Caput, the western part of the constellation, representing the serpent’s head, is located in the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ3). Serpens Cauda, the eastern part, representing the serpent’s tail, is found in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ3). The constellation can be seen at latitudes between +80° and -80°.
The constellations bordering Serpens Caput are Boötes, Corona Borealis, Hercules, Libra, Ophiuchus and Virgo. The constellations bordering Serpens Cauda are Aquila, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius and Scutum.
Serpens has one star brighter than magnitude 3.00 and two stars located within 10 parsecs (32.6 light years) of Earth. The brightest star in the constellation is Alpha Serpentis, also known by its traditional name, Unukalhai, with an apparent magnitude of 2.63. The nearest star is GJ 1224 (spectral class M4.5V), a flare star located at a distance of 24.60 light years from Earth.
Serpens contains more than 15 stars with known planets. These are Omega Serpentis (spectral class G8III), HD 168443 (G5IV), HD 142245 (K0), HD 168746 (G5V), HD 175541 (G8IV), COROT-11 (F6V), COROT-28 (G8/9IV), COROT-9 (G3V), COROT-33 (G9V), COROT-27 (G2), COROT-23 (F9/G0V), COROT-16 (G5V), and COROT-17 (G5V).
The star NN Serpentis has two gas giant planets, and the stars HAT-P-45 and HAT-P-46 each have two transiting planets. The pulsar PSR J1719-1438 has a planet-sized companion that is made primarily of carbon and very dense, which earned it the nickname the Diamond Planet. The star HD 136118 has a red dwarf companion previously thought to be a planet.
Serpens belongs to the Hercules family of constellations, along with Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Sextans, Triangulum Australe and Vulpecula.
Serpens contains two Messier objects – Messier 5 (M5, NGC 5904) and Messier 16 (M16, NGC 6611, Eagle Nebula). There are two meteor showers associated with the constellation, the Omega Serpentids, peaking on December 26, and the Sigma Serpentids, peaking on December 27.
MYTH
In Greek mythology, Serpens constellation represents a giant snake held by the healer Asclepius, represented by Ophiuchus constellation. Asclepius is usually depicted holding the top half of the snake in his left hand and the tail in his right hand.
Asclepius was the son of the god Apollo who was said to be able to bring people back from the dead with his healing powers. In one of the stories, he killed a snake and saw it be brought back to life by a herb that another snake placed on it. It was said that Asclepius later used the same technique.
The brightest star in the constellation, Unukalhai (Alpha Serpentis), represents the serpent’s neck, and Alya (Theta Serpentis) marks the tip of the snake’s tail.
Serpens constellation dates back to Babylonian times. The Babylonians had two snake constellations. One represented a hybrid of a dragon, lion and bird and roughly corresponded to the constellation we know as Hydra, the water snake.
The other Babylonian constellation, called Bašmu, was depicted as a horned serpent, and loosely corresponded to the constellation Ὄφις, created by the Greek astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus in the 4th century BC, on which Ptolemy’s Serpens constellation was based.
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