Serpens Cauda
Origin
Serpens is divided into two parts, Serpens Caput (the Serpent's Head) and Serpens Cauda (the Serpent's Tail), and has its origins in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. It represents a serpent or snake and is often associated with the serpent that played a role in various mythological tales. In Greek mythology, Serpens is linked to the healing god Asclepius, who was renowned for his ability to cure ailments. According to legend, Asclepius once used a serpent to heal a patient, and this association led to the inclusion of Serpens in the celestial catalog. Serpens is a unique constellation, as it is the only one divided into two separate sections on the celestial sphere.
Bright Stars
The tail of the Serpent has no stars brighter than third magnitude. Epsilon and Mu Serpentis
Photo of the constellation Serpens Cauda produced by NOIRLab in collaboration with Eckhard Slawik, a German astrophotographer.
The annotations are from a standardized set of 88 western IAU constellations and stick figures from Sky & Telescope. Please find here a non-annotated version of the image.
Credit: E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani
Latin name
Serpens Cauda
English name
The Serpent's Tail
Pronunciation
SIR-pens
Abbreviation
Ser
Notable Objects
Messier 16 (the Eagle Nebula): This famous star-forming region contains the iconic Pillars of Creation. While the nebula itself may be challenging to observe with a small telescope, the central cluster, NGC 6611, is visible and interesting to study.
IC4756: IC4756 is a bright open cluster of stars in the tail of the Serpent. At a magnitude of 4.6, it is visible to the naked eye from a reasonably dark site and a fine site in telescopes and binoculars.
