Brightest star in Serpens is the red giant star Alpha Serpentis, or Unukalhai, in Serpens Caput, with an apparent magnitude of 2.
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10 Facts About Serpens
2.
Also located in Serpens Caput are the naked-eye globular cluster Messier 5 and the naked-eye variables R Serpentis and Tau Serpentis.
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3.
Sometimes, Serpens was depicted as coiling around Ophiuchus, but the majority of atlases showed Serpens passing either behind Ophiuchus' body or between his legs.
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4.
One notable figure to depict Serpens separately was Johann Bayer; thus, Serpens' stars are cataloged with separate Bayer designations from those of Ophiuchus.
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5.
In Chinese astronomy, most of the stars of Serpens represented part of a wall surrounding a marketplace, known as Tianshi, which was in Ophiuchus and part of Hercules.
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6.
Serpens Caput is bordered by Libra to the south, Virgo and Bootes to the west, Corona Borealis to the north, and Ophiuchus and Hercules to the east; Serpens Cauda is bordered by Sagittarius to the south, Scutum and Aquila to the east, and Ophiuchus to the north and west.
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7.
Serpens Caput contains many RR Lyrae variables, although most are too faint to be seen without professional photography.
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8.
The other two stars in Serpens Cauda forming its asterism are Theta and Xi Serpentis.
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9.
Part of the galactic plane passes through the tail, and thus Serpens Cauda is rich in deep-sky objects within our own galaxy.
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10.
Serpens cloud is a massive star-forming molecular cloud situated in the southern part of Serpens Cauda.
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