This page describes an image Serpens Caput Constellation Map
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Diagram caption:
A map of part of the constellation Serpens. Serpens is unique amongst IAU constellations in that it is divided into two non-contiguous parts. The part of Serpens shown here is known as Serpens Caput, representing the head of the serpent. This part of Serpens is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Corona Borealis, Boötes, Virgo, Libra, Ophiuchus and Hercules.
Serpens Caput spans the celestial equator thus parts of the constellation are visible at some point in the year across the Earth. The whole constellation is visible to temperate and equatorial regions of the southern hemisphere and all of the northern hemisphere except a small region around the north pole. Serpens Caput is best viewed in the evening in the northern hemisphere summer and southern hemisphere winter.
The globular cluster M5 lies in Serpens Caput. It is marked here with a yellow circle with a plus sign superimposed on it.
The y-axis of this diagram is in degrees of declination with north as up and the x-axis is in hours of right ascension with east to the left. The sizes of the stars marked here relate to the star's apparent magnitude, a measure of its apparent brightness. The larger dots represent brighter stars. The Greek letters mark the brightest stars in the constellation. These are ranked by brightness with the brightest star being labeled alpha, the second brightest beta, etc., although this ordering is not always followed exactly. The dotted boundary lines mark the IAU's boundaries of the constellations and the solid green lines mark one of the common forms used to represent the figures of the constellations. Neither the constellation boundaries, nor the lines joining the stars appear on the sky.
Diagram credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope. Credit Link
Related glossary terms:
Apparent Magnitude
, Celestial Coordinates
, Celestial Equator
, Constellation
, Declination
, Globular Cluster
, Libra
, Right Ascension (RA)
, Virgo
Categories:
Naked Eye Astronomy
Diagram license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
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