Star profile
60 Serpens
What is 60 Serpens
60 Serpentis burns in Serpens, the only constellation split into two halves —the Head and the Tail— by the intervening figure of Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. It is an orange K-type giant some 230 light-years away, well past its nuclear youth, with a warmer hue and a radius far greater than the Sun's. Its light reaches us after two long centuries of silent travel across the summer sky.
Where it is and when to see it
60 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 37° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 47° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 58° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 88° N.
It ranks no. 30 in brightness among the 65 stars of Serpens in our catalogue. To find it, start from Unukalhai, the brightest: it lies about 42° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 230 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 60 Serpens
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.38
- Distance
- 229.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 277.421° · Dec -1.985°
- Catalogue
- HIP 90642 · HD 170474
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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
- 3 Serpens5.32
- Chi Serpens5.34
- 6 Serpens5.35
- 25 Serpens5.39
- HIP 791955.39