The brightest star in the area known as Serpens Cauda (the Serpent's Tail); its
magnitude is slightly variable between +3.39 and +3.41.
Eta Serpentis is an orange (K-type) star of
the type known as subgiants, lying more than sixty
light years from Earth.
With a declination of only -3°, this star lies very close to the Celestial Equator, and
within the band of the Milky Way.
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