Camelopardalis

Camelopardalis, Latin for giraffe, is the name of a large but faint northern constellation first recorded by Jakob Bartsch in 1624, but probably created earlier by Petrus Plancius.

Notable features

Although Camelopardalis is the 18th largest constellation, it is not a particularly bright constellation, as the brightest stars are only of fourth magnitude. β Camelopardalis is the brightest star, at apparent magnitude 4.03. This star is a double star, with components of magnitudes 4.0 and 7.4. The second brightest is CS Camelopardalis (which has neither a Bayer nor Flamsteed designation). It is of magnitude 4.21 (slightly variable). In some astronomical reference books, one will often see an alternate spelling of this constellation as Camelopardis.

Notable deep sky objects

NGC 2403 is a spiral galaxy approximately 11 million light years distant. It is of magnitude 8.4. NGC 1502 is an open cluster around 6,800 light years distant. It is of magnitude 6.0.

Mythology

Camelopardalis has no mythology associated with its stars, as it is a modern constellation, first recorded by Jakob Bartsch. The faintness of the constellation, and that of the nearby constellation Lynx, lead to the early Greeks considering this area of the sky to be empty, thus as a desert. However, as a desert, this may, together with other features in the Zodiac sign of Gemini (i.e. the Milky Way, and the constellations Gemini, Orion, Auriga, and Canis Major), this may be the origin of the myth of the cattle of Geryon, which forms one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles.

Table of leading stars

The following table lists all stars in Camelopardalis with a Bayer or Flamsteed designation, as well as all stars brighter than magnitude 4.50.
Bayer designation !! Flamsteed designation !! Variable designation !! Other designation !! Right ascension !! Declination !! Magnitude
|| || CS || ADS 2544 || 03h 29m 04.1s || +59° 56′ 25″ || 4.21v
γ 03h 50m 21.5s +71° 19′ 56″ 4.63
|| || BE || || 03h 49m 31.2s || +65° 31′ 34″ || 4.47v
|| 1 || || ADS 3274 || 04h 32m 01.8s || +53° 54′ 39″ || 5.77
|| 2 || || ADS 3358 || 04h 39m 58.1s || +53° 28′ 23″ || 5.35
|| 3 || || ADS 3359 || 04h 39m 54.7s || +53° 04′ 47″ || 5.05
|| 4 || || ADS 3432 || 04h 48m 00.3s || +56° 45′ 26″ || 5.30
α 9 04h 54m 03.0s +66° 20′ 34″ 4.29
|| 5 || || ADS 3508 || 04h 55m 03.1s || +55° 15′ 33″ || 5.52
|| 7 || || ADS 3536 || 04h 57m 17.2s || +53° 45′ 08″ || 4.47
|| 8 || || || 04h 59m 46.3s || +53° 09′ 20″ || 6.08
β 10 ADS 3615 05h 03m 25.1s +60° 26′ 32″ 4.03
|| 11 || BV || || 05h 06m 08.5s || +58° 58′ 21″ || 5.08v
|| 12 || BM || || 05h 06m 12.2s || +59° 01′ 16″ || 6.08v
|| 14 || || || 05h 13m 31.3s || +62° 41′ 29″ || 6.50
|| 15 || || || 05h 19m 27.8s || +58° 07′ 02″ || 6.13
|| 16 || || || 05h 23m 27.8s || +57° 32′ 40″ || 5.28
|| 17 || || || 05h 30m 10.2s || +63° 04′ 02″ || 5.42
|| 18 || || || 05h 32m 33.8s || +57° 13′ 16″ || 6.48
|| 19 || || ADS 4177 || 05h 37m 15.1s || +64° 09′ 17″ || 6.15
|| 24 || || || 05h 43m 01.6s || +56° 34′ 54″ || 6.05
|| 23 || || || 05h 44m 08.6s || +61° 28′ 36″ || 6.15
|| 26 || || || 05h 46m 30.4s || +56° 06′ 56″ || 5.94
|| 29 || || ADS 4412 || 05h 50m 34.0s || +56° 55′ 08″ || 6.54
|| 30 || || || 05h 52m 17.4s || +58° 57′ 51″ || 6.14
|| 31 || TU || || 05h 54m 57.8s || +59° 53′ 18″ || 5.20v
|| 37 || || || 06h 09m 59.1s || +58° 56′ 09″ || 5.36
|| 36 || || || 06h 12m 51.1s || +65° 43′ 06″ || 5.32
|| 40 || || || 06h 15m 40.6s || +59° 59′ 57″ || 5.35
|| 42 || || || 06h 50m 57.1s || +67° 34′ 19″ || 5.14
|| 43 || || || 06h 53m 42.2s || +68° 53′ 18″ || 5.12
|| 47 || || ADS 5995 || 07h 22m 17.2s || +59° 54′ 07″ || 6.35
|| 51 || || || 07h 46m 40.1s || +65° 27′ 21″ || 5.92
|| 49 || BC || || 07h 46m 27.4s || +62° 49′ 50″ || 6.49v
|| 53 || AX || || 08h 01m 42.4s || +60° 19′ 28″ || 6.01v
Source: The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
carolina parakeet
collective trauma
church
childe's tomb
cognate
chromatography
clement martyn doke
carl meinhof
cucurbitaceae
chorded keyboard
carolyn beug
cell biology
canadian english
czech language
capsid
chloramphenicol
cut up technique
cretinism
council of trent
chloroplast
camp david
christian adams
crux
cassiopeia
cetus
carina (constellation)
convention of kanagawa
canis major
canis minor
centaurus
impact crater
corvus
culture
corona borealis
cygnus (constellation)
communion
calorie
corona australis
corcovado
cheddar
compact disc
charles farrar browne
caelum
clarinet
Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved