Delta Serpentis, forming part of the body of the snake between the heart and the head, is a multiple star system[20] positioned around 70 parsecs from Earth. Consisting of four stars, the system has a total apparent magnitude of 3.79 as viewed from Earth,[21] although two of the stars, with a combined apparent magnitude of 3.80, provide nearly all the light.[22] The primary, a white subgiant, is a Delta Scuti variable with an average apparent magnitude of 4.23.[23] Positioned very near Delta, both in the night sky and likely in actual space at an estimated distance of around 70 parsecs,[24] is the barium star 16 Serpentis.[25] Another notable variable star visible to the naked eye is Chi Serpentis, an Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variable situated midway between Delta and Beta which varies from its median brightness of 5.33 by 0.03 magnitudes over a period of approximately 1.5 days.[26]