Serpens
The Serpent
Manifestations
This is an illustration from Hōei Nojiri's book, "A New Pilgrimage Through the Constellations".
Serpens is the serpent held by Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer, and it is a rare constellation because its region is divided into two parts: Serpens Caput (the head) and Serpens Cauda (the tail). However, in this illustration, it appears as a single, continuous serpent, making it easy to understand.
Among the 88 constellations, there are three that bear the name of a serpent: Serpens, Hydra, and Hydrus. Sisask's images for them are "Manifestations", "Timelessness", and "Sharp Contrasts", respectively.
The region of Serpens contains two breathtakingly beautiful celestial objects.
This is M5, one of the most spectacular globular clusters in the northern sky. Located 25,000 light-years away, it contains over 100,000 stars. It lies within the region of Serpens Caput, the head of the Serpens constellation.
This is Messier 16, an open star cluster located 7,000 light-years away (Sisask refers to it as NGC 6611), along with the Eagle Nebula. Both are found in the Serpens Cauda, the tail region of the Serpens constellation. M16 is said to be embedded within the Eagle Nebula, making it difficult to distinguish — and honestly, I can't tell which part it is either. But in any case, the universe looks like a fantasy painting, like an ocean in the sky, or like volcanic magma. I find the harmony of colors truly mesmerizing. At the center of this image, there is a shape that rises like a pillar. Here is a closer image of that remarkable structure.
These three massive columns are dark nebulae known as the "Pillars of Creation." Since they are located 7,000 light-years away, the image we see now shows them as they were 7,000 years ago. Thinking about that, I suddenly found myself seeing dinosaurs in this image.
By the way,
When did dinosaurs first appear? → About 230 million years ago.
When was the universe born? → 13.8 billion years ago.
When was the Earth formed? → 4.6 billion years ago.
Let’s take this moment to reflect on the fact that everything has a moment of birth.
Sisask's image for Serpens is "Manifestation."
When I looked up the English word manifestation, I found that it can also mean "the appearance of a spirit." This makes me feel as if Sisask is inviting us to return to one of the most essential questions for all beings in the universe—how life itself began—and to reflect on the profound mystery of returning to the universe as spirit when life comes to an end.
Sisask’s Serpens evokes the orderly arrangement and orbits of celestial bodies through parallel motion of wide chords spanning ninths and tenths, often built on open fifths. In addition, passages inserted into the middle staff of the three staves seem to depict flashes of light that suddenly appear, like comets or meteors. Perhaps these lights are manifestations of spirits themselves.
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