Ser - Serpens the Snake | The Sky Tonight

Intro and Visual description

Located in the hands of Ophiuchus, Serpens is the only constellation divided into two parts: Serpens Caput (=head) and Serpens Cauda (=tail), with Ophiuchus between them.

Origin and History

Serpens is included in the ancient star catalog of Ptolemy, but not in the catalogs of Eudoxos of Knidos and Aratos of Soli.

Skylore, Literature and Culture

Serpens brought Ophiuchus an herb that could revive the dead.

Image	Representation	Date
Image	Bainbridge (1619) figure: Serpens	1619
Image	Bainbridge (1619): Frontispiece	1619
Image	Bayer, Uranometria (1661): Serpens	1661
Image	Bayer, Uranometria (1661): Serpens, detail	1661
Image	Bode (1801), plate 2: Libra Planisphere *Uranographia Tab II. Stellatum Hemisphaeri um Librae.* Bode included two planisphere plates. They are not southern and northern hemispheres; each one has Polaris at the top and the south pole at the bottom. Each…	1801
Image	Bode (1801), plate 9	1801
Image	Bode (1801), plate 9: Ophiuchus, Serpens	1801
Image	Hyginus (1485) figure: Ophiuchus	1485
Image	Urania's Mirror (1825) card: Ophiuchus more Urania's Mirror (1825) card: Ophiuchus (Serpentarius), Serpens, Scutum, Taurus Poniatowski	1825