On the celestial equator, there is a small constellation known as Monoceros (Greek: Μοvόκερως, meaning "unicorn"). Petrus Plancius, a Dutch cartographer from the 17th century, is credited with coining this definition. Orion is on its western edge, Gemini is on its northern edge, Canis Major is on its southern edge, and Hydra is on its eastern edge. Canis Minor, Lepus, and Puppis are some of the nearby constellations.
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History
Monoceros is a relatively recent constellation in Western astronomy; it is not one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations listed in the Almagest. (Ley 1063) The Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius produced the first known depiction of it in 1612 or 1613, and the German astronomer Jakob Bartsch later identified it as Unicornu on his star chart from 1624. According to Richard Hinckley Allen's allegations, German astronomers Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers and Ludwig Ideler suggest that the constellation may be older by quoting an astrological work from 1564 that stated that "the second horse between the Twins and the Crab has many stars, but is not very bright"; these references may ultimately be attributable to the 13th-century Scotsman Michael Scot, but they refer to a horse and not a unicorn, and their According to a report (Allen 1899), Joseph Scaliger discovered Monoceros on an antique Persian sphere. The region of the sky now inhabited by Monoceros and Microscopium was thought by French astronomer Camille Flammarion to once be home to the constellation Neper (the "Auger"), however, this is debatable. Within the confines of Monoceros were the Chinese asterisms Sze Fūh, the Four Great Canals; Kwan Kew; and Wae Choo, the Outer Kitchen. |
Planets
One planetary system, Monoceros, has two super-Earth exoplanets: COROT-7b, discovered by the COROT satellite, and COROT-7c, discovered by HARPS using ground-based observatories. With a diameter of 1.58 times that of the Earth and a volume of 3.95 times that of the Earth, COROT-7b was the smallest exoplanet known to science until the discovery of Kepler-10b in January 2011. This system's two planets were found in 2009.
One planetary system, Monoceros, has two super-Earth exoplanets: COROT-7b, discovered by the COROT satellite, and COROT-7c, discovered by HARPS using ground-based observatories. With a diameter of 1.58 times that of the Earth and a volume of 3.95 times that of the Earth, COROT-7b was the smallest exoplanet known to science until the discovery of Kepler-10b in January 2011. This system's two planets were found in 2009.
Deep-sky Objects
Messier 50 (M50) – Open Cluster
NGC 2244 – Rosette Nebula (Diffuse Nebula)
Associated parts of the Rosette Nebula
NGC 2254 - Open Cluster
NGC 2261 – Variable Reflection Nebula
IC 447 – Reflection Nebula
Main stars - 4
Bayer stars - 32
Stars with planets - 16
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 2
Bordering
constellations
Meteor showers
Messier 50 (M50) – Open Cluster
NGC 2244 – Rosette Nebula (Diffuse Nebula)
Associated parts of the Rosette Nebula
- NGC 2237
- NGC 2238
- NGC 2239
- NGC 2246
NGC 2254 - Open Cluster
NGC 2261 – Variable Reflection Nebula
IC 447 – Reflection Nebula
Main stars - 4
Bayer stars - 32
Stars with planets - 16
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 2
Bordering
constellations
- Canis Major
- Canis Minor
- Gemini
- Hydra
- Lepus
- Orion
- Puppis
Meteor showers
- December Monocerids
- Alpha Monocerids