The Giraffe
| Abbreviation: | Cam |
| Genitive: | Camelopardalis |
| Origin: | Petrus Plancius |
| Fully Visible: | 3°S – 90°N |
Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius (1552–1622) introduced this constellation in his 1612 celestial glove. Some older astronomy books give the name as Camelopardus and the obsolete constellation Rangifer sometimes appears on the giraffe's back.
Notable Features
| Visible Named Stars | ||
|---|---|---|
| The brightest star in the constellation, β Cam, is only fourth-magnitude. None of the visible stars in this constellation have an official name. | ||
| Other Interesting Stars | ||
| HD 32518 | Mago | This seventh-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet. It is located just north of α Cam. |
| HD 104985 | Tonatiuh | This sixth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet. The name of both the star and its planet (Maztli) are Aztec in origin. The star appears in the 'head' of the giraffe in the vicinity of the star Polaris. |
| Deep Sky Objects | ||
| C5 | This face-on spiral galaxy is a challenging object because it's near the dusty galactic equator where seeing is problematical. It is also catalogued as IC 342. | |
| C7 | Discovered by William Herschel in 1788, this spiral galaxy lies at a distance of approximately 8 million light years. Appearing in the New General Catalogue as number 2403, it is a member of the M81 Group of galaxies. | |
| Meteor Shower Radiants | ||
| 281 Oct | October Camelopardalids | This minor shower is briefly active during the first week of October. |
| 451 Cam | Camelopardalids | This shower peaks in mid- to late May. It is composed of the castoffs of Comet 209P/LINEAR. |
Copyright © 1995–2023 by L.M. Stockman and David Harper