Star profile
4 Serpens
What is 4 Serpens
4 Serpentis sits 151 light-years away in a uniquely shaped constellation: Serpens, the only one in the entire sky split into two separate parts —Head to the west and Tail to the east— divided by the body of Ophiuchus the serpent bearer. Of class A, blue-white and noticeably hotter than the Sun, it shines with about ten times the solar luminosity. It is drifting very slowly toward our system, only three kilometres per second, in an approach that is almost imperceptible.
Where it is and when to see it
4 Serpens lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 39° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 50° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 56° above the horizon.
It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from nearly the whole planet.
It ranks no. 40 in brightness among the 65 stars of Serpens in our catalogue. To find it, start from Unukalhai, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 150 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for 4 Serpens
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.62
- Distance
- 150.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 228.954° · Dec 0.372°
- Catalogue
- HIP 74689 · HD 135559
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Other stars in Serpens
Serpens has 65 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- UnukalhaiAlpha Serpens2.63
- Eta Serpens3.23
- Mu Serpens3.54
- HIP 860195.54
- 64 Serpens5.56
- HIP 771635.57
- 45 Serpens5.63
- HIP 748965.68