Constellation Highlights
The constellations are humanity’s oldest map. Every culture that ever looked up drew pictures in the stars — and many of those stories, some thousands of years old, are still the names we use today.
But a constellation is more than its mythology. Each one is a region of sky with its own cast of objects worth finding: bright stars, double stars, clusters, nebulae, galaxies. This series covers both — the stories and the sky — with a guide to what’s actually there and how to find it, whatever equipment you’re using.
Aquarius
CALDWELL:
55, 63
MESSIER:
2, 72, 73
NGC:
7009, 7284, 7293
OTHER:
HCG 88, Arp 93
Cygnus
STARS:
Albireo
CALDWELL:
12, 33, 34
MESSIER:
29
NGC:
6960, 6992, 6946, 7000
OTHER:
Sh2-101
Hercules
STARS:
Ras Algethi
MESSIER:
13, 92
NGC:
6207, 4631
OTHER:
Abell 39, Abell 2151
Canes Venatici
STARS:
Y CVn, TON 618
CALDWELL:
32
MESSIER:
3, 51, 63
NGC:
4627, 4631
Coma Berenices
MESSIER:
64, 100
NGC:
4173, 4565, 4889
OTHER:
HCG 61, Melotte 111
Cancer
STARS:
X Cnc, Iota Cnc, Zeta Cnc, 55 Cnc
CALDWELL:
48
MESSIER:
44, 67
NGC:
2672, 2775
OTHER:
Arp 167
Monoceros
CALDWELL:
46, 49, 50
MESSIER:
50
NGC:
2237, 2244, 2261, 2264, 2346
OTHER:
IC 2177
Perseus
STARS:
Algol
CALDWELL:
14, 24
MESSIER:
76
NGC:
869, 884, 1245, 1275, 1499
Camelopardalis
STARS:
RU Cam
CALDWELL:
5, 7
NGC:
1501, 1502, 2146, 2403
OTHER:
IC 342, IC 3568
Andromeda
STARS:
Almach
CALDWELL:
22, 23, 28
MESSIER:
31, 32, 110
NGC:
206, 752, 891, 7662