Monoceros

Constellation

Represents a unicorn, a faint constellation straddling the celestial equator near Orion.

Facts

TypeConstellation
Area of sky482 sq°
Brightest star magnitudemag 3.74
HemisphereNorthern
Zodiac constellationNo
Discovered1613

Monoceros in context

A constellation is a pattern drawn on the sky rather than a physical grouping: its stars are usually unrelated and sit at wildly different distances, just lined up as seen from Earth.

Monoceros covers 482 square degrees of sky, which is 1.2 percent of the whole celestial sphere.

That makes it the 35th largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.

It sits in the northern sky.

Its brightest star reaches magnitude 3.74, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.

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