SkyEye - Cancer

The Crab

Abbreviation: Cnc
Genitive: Cancri
Origin: [antiquity]

The constellation of Cancer

Cancer is a member of the zodiac. This is one of the most ancient of constellations, harking back to Babylonia where it was known as either a crab or snapping turtle. The ancient Egyptians associated it with the scarab beetle, the sacred emblem of immortality. The ancient Greeks thought it represented the crab that Heracles stepped on during his fight with the Hydra.

The obsolete constellation Cancer Minor appears off the right of the crab.

Notable Features

Designation	Name	Description
α Cnc	Acubens	This star sometimes appears as Sertan (from the Arabic al‑saraṭān meaning 'the crab') in older star atlases and catalogues.
β Cnc	Tarf
γ Cnc	Asellus Borealis
δ Cnc	Asellus Australis
ε Cnc	Meleph	This star sometimes appears as Praesepe (from the Latin praesepe meaning 'the manger') in older star atlases and catalogues. It also appears as Al Nethra (from the Arabic al‑nathra meaning 'the sneeze [of the lion]') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
ζ¹ Cnc	Tegmine	Tegmine is the brightest component of a multiple star. A small telescope will show two objects but the brighter one is actually a binary.
λ Cnc	Piautos
ξ Cnc	Nahn
ρ¹ Cnc	Copernicus	Also known by its Flamsteed designation 55 Cnc, this star is known to have at least five exoplanets.
DX Cnc		This is a nearby neighbour of the Sun. Lying at a distance of nearly 12 light years, it shines at a feeble fifteenth magnitude. It is found on the sky map near φ² Cnc.
HD 73534	Gakyid	This eighth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet.

M44	The Beehive, Praesepe	This open star cluster is over 500 light years away. Because it is located so near to the ecliptic, solar system objects often pass near or through it, affording excellent astrophotographic opportunities.
M67		Few open star clusters are older than this one. Binoculars are necessary to see this sixth magnitude object.
C48		A medium-size telescope will be necessary to view this spiral galaxy. Long-exposure photographs reveal multiple spiral arms around the central bulge.