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The Only Constellation Split by Another

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The Only Constellation Split by Another

Serpens's own article already notes its unique division into Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, head and tail, separated by the figure of Ophiuchus who grasps the snake between them. That structural oddity is worth dwelling on for what it says about how the modern eighty-eight constellations were assembled at all, since Serpens remains, uniquely among them, one figure officially split into two non-touching pieces on the sky.

When the International Astronomical Union fixed permanent constellation boundaries in 1930, every other ancient figure, however oddly shaped, was drawn as one continuous region; Serpens alone was left with its identity divided by another constellation's boundary running straight through where the snake's body would otherwise be continuous, a decision that preserved the ancient image of the serpent-bearer grasping a single snake rather than forcing the boundary-makers to either merge Ophiuchus and Serpens into one figure or draw the snake as though its middle simply did not exist.

The Eagle Nebula, sitting within Serpens Cauda, gained its own fame independently of this oddity: the Hubble Space Telescope's 1995 image of its central dust columns, quickly nicknamed the Pillars of Creation, became one of the most reproduced astronomical photographs ever taken, showing towering structures of gas and dust within which new stars are still forming.

A snake divided by its own handler, and inside the divided half, one of the most famous images modern astronomy has ever produced.

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