OOOO
| Abbreviation: Cnc |
| English Name: The Crab |
| Genitive: Acubens |
| Hemisphere: Northern Hemisphere |
| Location: Between the constellations of Leo and Gemini. |
| Visible between latitudes: +45 and -90 degrees |
| Best season: Spring |
| Seen in three seasons: Winter, Spring and Summer |
| Best seen in: March (map) |
| Seen between: January and May |
| Right Ascension (RA): 09 hour |
| Declination (DEC): +20 degrees |
| Area (square degrees): 506 (31st) |
OOOO
Cancer (The Crab)
- It lies between Gemini (The Twin) and Leo (The Lion).
o - A dim and largely zodiacal constellation.
o - In fact, it is very faint with no stars brighter than magnitude +4.0.
OOOO
OOOO
Messier Objects in Cancer
| M44 – Praesepe, The Beehive Cluster; there are actually about 200 stars in the Open Cluster, spread over an area three times the diameter of the Full Moon. (photo) |
| M67 – Large Open Cluster with about the same size of Full Moon – readily visible in binocular. (photo) |
Other objects in Cancer
| Select Catalog | No of Objects |
| Barnard (B) | 0x object |
| Caldwell (C) | 1x object |
| Collinder (Cr) | 2x objects |
| New General Catalogue (NGC) | 117x objects |
| Index Catalogue (IC) | 220x objects |
| Sharpless (Sh2) | 1x object |
Features of Interest
- M44 -To the naked-eye, it appears as a little misty patch in clear skies even if there is a certain amount of moonless/moonlight. Binoculars reveal it as a large cluster of stars and in a telescope at the lowest power the eyepiece.
OOOO
OOOO
Named Stars
- Acubens (Alpha Cnc)
- Altarf (Beta Cnc)
- Asellus Borealis (Gamma Cnc)
- Asellus Australis (Delta Cnc)
- Tegmen (Zeta 1 Cnc)
- more list of stars in Cancer
oooo
oooo
Planetarium / Constellation Map
| Live constellation visible from the UK :- Planetarium (Cancer) | Best Seen in: March (map) | Seen between: January and May |
IAU Sky Chart: Cancer
OOOO
OOOO
Go To
Constellations – Visible from the UK
OOOO
Parts visible from the UK
| Antlia | Columba | Eridanus | Fornax | Microscopium | ||
| Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Sagittarius | Scorpius | ||
| Sculptor |
oooo
Constellations: Southern Celestial Hemisphere
…..– never seen from the UK
oooo
oooo
Back to …Constellation Names
OOOO