Star profile

Iota Serpens

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is Iota Serpens

ι Serpentis is a white star in the head of the Serpent, one of the only two constellations in the sky split into two bodies: head and tail, separated by the figure of Ophiuchus. Its clean A-type light slips between the coils of the mythic reptile, held eternally by the hands of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. A discreet flame in a region of the sky charged with healing symbolism.

Where it is and when to see it

Iota 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 58° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 69° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 36° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 70° S.

It ranks no. 13 in brightness among the 65 stars of Serpens in our catalogue. To find it, start from Unukalhai, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 190 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on Iota Serpens

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Write my signature

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 Iota Serpens

Constellation: Serpens
Apparent magnitude: 4.51
Distance: 190.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 235.388° · Dec 19.670°
Catalogue: HIP 76852 · HD 140159

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Serpens

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

See all 65 stars in Serpens