
Star profile
Epsilon Serpens
What is Epsilon Serpens
Epsilon Serpentis traces one of the joints of the Serpent, that rare constellation split in two by Ophiuchus. It is a white type-A star some 70 light-years away, close enough that its light travels roughly a human lifetime before crossing paths with ours. On Greek charts it marked the gleaming body of the reptile held by the celestial healer.
Where it is and when to see it
Epsilon 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 43° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 54° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 52° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 86° S.
It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 65 stars of Serpens in our catalogue. To find it, start from Unukalhai, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 71 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 Epsilon Serpens
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.71
- Distance
- 70.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 237.704° · Dec 4.478°
- Catalogue
- HIP 77622 · HD 141795
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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
- Xi Serpens3.54
- Beta Serpens3.65
- Delta Serpens3.80
- Gamma Serpens3.85
- GudjaKappa Serpens4.09