Monoceros

English name Unicorn

Major
stars No star of the constellation exceeds the magnitude 3,5.

Description Weak constellation surrounded by Orion, Canis Maior and Canis Minor.
Among the most interesting stars are surely beta Monocerotis, a triple formed by three white-blue component, delta Monocerotis, a double observable to the naked eye, and epsilon Monocerotis, a couple constituted by a yellow star and a blue one, visible with modest telescopes.
The region of Monoceros is rich in open cluster. First of all M50, near Canis Maior, formed by one hundred stars, among which dominates an orange giant; and NGC 2232, diffused round a blue star of fifth magnitude. But the most interesting objects are NGC 2244 (here on the left), a cluster constituted by about twenty young stars, born by the surrounding Rosetta Nebula, so called for its flower shape (it is visible only in long-exposured photos); and NGC 2264, another cluster with a nebula, in the southern part of which there is a wedge of dust dark known as Cone Nebula.

Mythology
and history This constellation was invented by the Dutch astronomer and theologian Petrus Plancius in 1613. It represents the mythological animal of which it has the name.

English name	Unicorn

Major stars	No star of the constellation exceeds the magnitude 3,5.

Description	Weak constellation surrounded by Orion, Canis Maior and Canis Minor. Among the most interesting stars are surely beta Monocerotis, a triple formed by three white-blue component, delta Monocerotis, a double observable to the naked eye, and epsilon Monocerotis, a couple constituted by a yellow star and a blue one, visible with modest telescopes. The region of Monoceros is rich in open cluster. First of all M50, near Canis Maior, formed by one hundred stars, among which dominates an orange giant; and NGC 2232, diffused round a blue star of fifth magnitude. But the most interesting objects are NGC 2244 (here on the left), a cluster constituted by about twenty young stars, born by the surrounding Rosetta Nebula, so called for its flower shape (it is visible only in long-exposured photos); and NGC 2264, another cluster with a nebula, in the southern part of which there is a wedge of dust dark known as Cone Nebula.

Mythology and history	This constellation was invented by the Dutch astronomer and theologian Petrus Plancius in 1613. It represents the mythological animal of which it has the name.

Monoceros

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