Star profile
Upsilon Serpens
What is Upsilon Serpens
Upsilon Serpentis accompanies the long body of the serpent-bearer, in a constellation split into two halves held up by the giant Ophiuchus across the summer sky. It is a white A-type star some 250 light-years away, hotter and more luminous than the Sun. Its light silently marks out the sinuous line of the celestial reptile, in a tracing that breaks and resumes across the firmament.
Where it is and when to see it
Upsilon 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 53° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 63° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 42° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 76° S.
It ranks no. 44 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 250 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Upsilon Serpens
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.71
- Distance
- 250.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 236.822° · Dec 14.115°
- Catalogue
- HIP 77336 · HD 141187
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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
- 45 Serpens5.63
- HIP 748965.68
- 47 Serpens5.69
- HIP 904975.71
- HIP 863135.74