Unukalhai is the brightest star of Serpens, an orange giant whose Arabic name means the neck of the snake, set in the head of the Serpent.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 74 light-years (22.7 pc) |
| its light left it | 74 years ago |
| luminosity | 56.5 × the Sun |
| radius | 10.7 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 4,830 K |
| constellation | Serpens (Serpent) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Unukalhai
Unukalhai is an orange giant of class K, far wider than the Sun, cooler at its surface and far more luminous. It has used up the hydrogen in its core and is now in its giant stage.
Its name comes from the Arabic for the neck of the snake. Serpens is the only constellation split into two parts, the head and the tail, on either side of Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer; Unukalhai lies in the head.
What you see in the piece
Its colour is its temperature: in the piece Unukalhai is a warm orange point. Fly out and the Serpent, already split in two from Earth, scatters further.
Questions
What is the brightest star in Serpens?
Unukalhai, an orange giant (class K) 74 light-years (22.7 pc) from the Sun.