Images by Date
Images by Category
Solar System
Stars
Exoplanets
White Dwarfs
Supernovas
Neutron Stars
Black Holes
Milky Way Galaxy
Normal Galaxies
Quasars
Galaxy Clusters
Cosmology/Deep Field
Miscellaneous
Images by Interest
Space Scoop for Kids
4K JPG
Multiwavelength
Sky Map
Constellations
Photo Blog
Top Rated Images
Image Handouts
Desktops
Fits Files
Image Tutorials
Photo Album Tutorial
False Color
Cosmic Distance
Look-Back Time
Scale & Distance
Angular Measurement
Images & Processing
AVM/Metadata
Image Use Policy
Web Shortcuts
Chandra Blog
RSS Feed
Chronicle
Email Newsletter
News & Noteworthy
Image Use Policy
Questions & Answers
Glossary of Terms
Download Guide
Get Adobe Reader
Cancer Location: Visible in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Coordinates:
Right Ascension: 8.7h
Declination: +20.2º
Source: Mythologies of the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Assyrians, and Egyptians

Cancer Constellation

The story behind the name: Cancer, the crab, is one of the original 13 constellations of the Zodiac. Despite being a relatively dim constellation, the story behind Cancer is one of adventure. During one of Hercules's 12 labors, where he was battling against a Hydra, the goddess Hera sent a crab named Cancer to distract the hero. The crab was able to get his claws around Hercules's toes, but failed to do any more damage as Cancer was crushed shortly afterwards. Hera felt pity for the small creature that died for her wishes and gave Cancer a place among the stars in the Zodiacal constellation.

cancer
Johannes Hevelius' Cancer from Uranographia (1690)

The constellation contains an important star cluster known as the 'beehive'. When observed with the naked eye, it appears as a fuzzy region in the sky. But even through a small optical telescope, its multitude of stars looks like a swarm of bees. The star cluster is known as M44 or NGC 2632. Another interesting object that is found in Cancer is RX J086.3+1527, which is suspected to give off strong gravitational waves.

Introduction to Constellations | Constellation Sources | Constellations Index


Objects observed by Chandra in Cancer: