Monoceros constellation
| Constellation | |
|
|
| Abbreviation | Mon |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Monocerotis |
| Pronunciation |
/məˈnɒsɪrəs/, genitive /ˌmɒnəsɪˈroʊtɪs/ |
| Symbolism | the Unicorn |
| Right ascension | 7.15 |
| Declination | −5.74 |
| Quadrant | NQ2 |
| Area | 482 sq. deg. (35th) |
| Main stars | 4 |
|
Bayer/Flamsteed stars |
32 |
| Stars with planets | 16 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 2 |
| Brightest star | β Mon (3.76m) |
| Messier objects | 1 |
| Meteor showers |
December Monocerids Alpha Monocerids |
| Bordering constellations |
Canis Major Canis Minor Gemini Hydra Lepus Orion Puppis |
|
Visible at latitudes between +75° and −90°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of February. |
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Monoceros (Greek: Μονόκερως) is a faint constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is Greek for unicorn. Its definition is attributed to the 17th-century Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius. It is bordered by Orion to the west, Gemini to the north, Canis Major to the south and Hydra to the east. Other bordering constellations include Canis Minor, Lepus and Puppis.
Monoceros is not easily seen with the naked eye, containing only a few fourth magnitude stars. Alpha Monocerotis has a visual magnitude of 3.93, slightly brighter than Gamma Monocerotis at 3.98.
Beta Monocerotis is a triple star system, the three stars forming a triangle which seems to be fixed. The visual magnitudes of the stars are 4.7, 5.2 and 6.1. William Herschel discovered it in 1781 and commented that it is "one of the most beautiful sights in the heavens".
Epsilon Monocerotis is a fixed binary, with visual magnitudes of 4.5 and 6.5.
S Monocerotis, or 15 Monocerotis, is a bluish white variable star and is located at the center of NGC 2264. The variation in its magnitude is slight (4.2–4.6). It has a companion star of visual magnitude 8.
V838 Monocerotis, a variable red supergiant star, had an outburst starting on January 6, 2002; in February of that year, its brightness increased by a factor of 10,000 in one day. After the outburst was over, the Hubble Space Telescope was able to observe a light echo, which illuminated the dust surrounding the star.
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