Serpens is a constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations designated by
Serpens held by Ophiuchus, as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c. 1825. Above the tail of the serpent is the now-obsolete constellation Taurus Poniatovii while below it is Scutum
The constellation Serpens (Caput) as it can be seen by the naked eye
The constellation Serpens (Cauda) as it can be seen by the naked eye
Messier 5, a globular cluster that can be seen with the naked eye under good conditions
Ophiuchus is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name comes from the Ancient Greek ὀφιοῦχος, meaning "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake.
Rho Ophiuchi, shown with a surrounding bluish cloud slightly above a pentagon of stars in Scorpius, with the main band of the Milky Way much further to the left
The constellation Ophiuchus as it can be seen by naked eye.
Illustration of Serpens, Ophiuchus and Scorpius in the Leiden Aratea manuscript, around 830 - 840.
Johannes Kepler's 1606 book De Stella Nova in Pede Serpentarii (On the New Star in Ophiuchus's Foot) opened at the page for Ophiuchus.