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serpens

Going Deep in the Snake’s Head

July 24, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Sketch of Messier 5. Credit: Vedran Vrhovac at Flickr.com
Sketch of Messier 5. Credit: Vedran Vrhovac at Flickr.com. Click to enlarge.

The constellation Serpens Caput, the Snake’s Head, lies well off the band of the Milky Way and holds relatively few deep-sky sights. But it’s not completely barren. Let’s have a look at three targets in this ancient constellation for stargazers equipped with modest optics and an urge to see something good [Read more…] about Going Deep in the Snake’s Head

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Filed Under: Deep Sky constellation, serpens, sky tour

The Constellation Serpens Caput, the ‘Snake’s Head’

July 16, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The region of Ophiuchus and Serpens in a map circa 1825.
The region of Ophiuchus and Serpens in a map circa 1825.

In last month’s constellation tour, we examined the dazzling stars of the constellation Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. This month, we move due south to the northern section of the constellation Serpens, the only constellation split into two parts. These are the stars of Serpens Caput, the ‘head of the snake’, which zigzags vertically along the celestial sphere, just north of the celestial equator, and just west of the much larger constellation Ophiuchus, the ‘serpent bearer’. The stars of Serpens Caput are visible in the northern and southern hemispheres [Read more…] about The Constellation Serpens Caput, the ‘Snake’s Head’

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Filed Under: Deep Sky constellation, serpens, sky tour

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