Star profile

5 Serpens

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is 5 Serpens

5 Serpentis is a white-yellow F-type subgiant 83 light-years away, classed as a Delta Scuti variable: its brightness ripples by tiny amounts with a period of just 0.16 days, ultra-fast pulses that asteroseismology uses to peer beneath its surface. It anchors a system of fainter companions and lies in the mythic head of the Serpent —one of only two constellations split into two separate halves across the sky—.

Where it is and when to see it

5 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 40° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 51° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 54° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 88° S.

It ranks no. 20 in brightness among the 65 stars of Serpens in our catalogue. To find it, start from Unukalhai, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 83 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 5 Serpens

Constellation: Serpens
Apparent magnitude: 5.04
Distance: 82.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 229.828° · Dec 1.765°
Catalogue: HIP 74975 · HD 136202

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Other stars in Serpens

Serpens has 65 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 65 stars in Serpens