Cancer Constellation | Constellations In The Northern Hemisphere

CANCER CONSTELLATION – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about the constellation Cancer, the Crab.

It is a constellation in the northern sky. The name is a Latin term for the “Crab” and is the faintest of the 12 Zodiacs.

The constellation is the 31st largest constellation in size which occupies an area of 506 square degrees. It can be found in NQ2, the second quadrant in the northern hemisphere.

It houses the open cluster Praesepe or the Beehive Cluster, the open cluster Messier 67, and the interacting spiral galaxies NGC 2535 and NGC 2536.

As mentioned above, it belongs to the zodiac family along with Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces.

The only meteor shower associated with the constellation is the Delta Cancrids.

The constellation is associated with the crab in the story of the Twelve Labours of Heracles. The crab is sent be Hera to distract Hercules, who was fighting the Lernaean Hydra, the serpent-like beast with many heads and poisonous breath. As the crab attempt to kill the hero, the latter kicks it all the way to the stars.

Stars

Among the stars include: