Star profile

Zeta Serpens

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

What is Zeta Serpens

Zeta Serpentis shines about 77 light-years away in the tail of the Serpent —Serpens Cauda—, one of the two halves into which the ancient celestial snake appears split by Ophiuchus. It is a yellow-white F-type star, somewhat hotter and brighter than the Sun, in full stellar maturity. Its light, which set out as the twentieth century began, today crosses the gaze of anyone tracing the two separated streamers across the northern summer sky.

Where it is and when to see it

Zeta Serpens lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is June: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

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 Zeta Serpens

Constellation: Serpens
Apparent magnitude: 4.62
Distance: 76.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 270.121° · Dec -3.690°
Catalogue: HIP 88175 · HD 164259

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