Corona Borealis

Corona Borealis

Constellation
List of stars in Corona Borealis
Abbreviation	CrB
Genitive	Coronae Borealis
Pronunciation	/kɵˈroʊnə bɒriˈælɨs/, genitive /kɵˈroʊniː/
Symbolism	The Northern Crown
Right ascension	16
Declination	+30
Area	179 sq. deg. (73rd)
Main stars	6
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	24
Stars with known planets	3
Bright stars	1
Nearby stars	0
Brightest star	α CrB (Alphecca or Gemma) (2.2m)
Nearest star	ρ CrB (56.81 ly)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	None
Bordering constellations	Hercules Boötes Serpens Caput
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −50°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of July.

Corona Borealis is a small constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for "northern crown", a name inspired by its shape; its main stars form a semicircular arc. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations.

Notable features

Stars

Corona Borealis has no first magnitude stars. Its brightest star, α CrB (Alphecca, also known as Gemma) is of magnitude 2.2 (slightly variable) and is considered a member of the diffuse Ursa Major Moving Group. The constellation contains several interesting variable stars: two of the best known are R Coronae Borealis and T Coronae Borealis.

Named Stars

Deep sky objects

Corona Borealis contains no bright deep sky objects. Abell 2065 is a highly concentrated galaxy cluster containing over 400 members, the brightest of which are of 16th magnitude.

Mythology

Corona Borealis was sometimes considered to represent a crown that was given by Dionysus to Ariadne, the daughter of Minos of Crete.^{[citation needed]} At other points it was considered to belong, in a sense, to Boötes, the herdsman.^{[citation needed]} The Cheyenne nation of Native Americans called it the "Camp Circle" as they arranged their camps in a semicircle. In Welsh mythology, the Northern Crown was called Caer Arianrhod, ‘the Castle of the Silver Circle,’ and was the heavenly abode of the Lady Arianrhod (Squire, 2000:154-155).

See also

• Corona Australis

References

• Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.
• Squire, C. (2000). The mythology of the British Islands: an introduction to Celtic myth, legend, poetry and romance. London & Ware: UCL & Wordsworth Editions Ltd.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Corona Borealis

• The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Corona Borealis
• Star Tales – Corona Borealis

Coordinates: 16^h 00^m 00^s, +30° 00′ 00″