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<\/figure>\n\n1. The Little Crab<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe 48 Greek constellations had gaps between them, and some of <\/span>these were filled with new constellations. For a few decades in the 16th century, Cancer Minor, proposed by Flemish astronomer Petrus Plancius, was one of these. This asterism of different coloured 5th magnitude stars extends 7\u00b0 from 85 Geminorum to 68 Geminorum, looking like a fainter version of Sagitta. It\u2019s 6\u00b0 south of Kappa (\u03ba) Geminorum.<\/p>\n\n2. Mekbuda<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\nMekbuda (Zeta (\u03b6) Geminorum) is a Cepheid variable (mag. +3.6 to <\/span>+4.2) star. The period of a Cepheid is proportional to its luminosity (intrinsic brightness) so, merely by measuring its period, you can determine its distance by comparing its luminosity with magnitude. Mekbuda\u2019s period is 10.15 days, so you can obtain a light curve in a month. It is an easy, wide double star. <\/p>\n\n3. VZ Cancri <\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\nIf 10.15 days is too long for you and you want to watch a star complete its cycle of variability in a single session, this is the one for you! VZ Cancri oscillates between mag. +7.2 and +7.9 over a period of 4 hours 17 minutes. You\u2019ll find it midway between 49 and 36 Cancri. VZ is a RR Lyrae variable; it has a rapid rise in brightness followed by a dimming. <\/span><\/p>\n\n4. RV Monocerotis<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\nRV Monocerotis is an altogether different experience. This red giant <\/span>star takes 121.3 days to cycle through magnitudes +6.9 and +7.7. It is classified as a semi-regular variable owing to its underlying periods of 91.8 and 1047 days. There are no bright markers nearby, so find it by taking a line from Alhena (Gamma (\u03b3) Geminorum) through Xi (\u03be) Geminorum and extending it a further 7.5\u00b0 \u2013 RV is the reddest star in the field of view.<\/span><\/p>\n\n5. M50<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\nM50 lies 8\u00b0 from Delta (\u03b4) Monocerotis in the direction of <\/span>Theta (\u03b8) Canis Majoris. Expect to see a circular glow about half the Moon\u2019s apparent diameter. This comes from just over 100 stars, but you won\u2019t be able to resolve more than four or five, depending on the sky\u2019s darkness, in 10×50 binoculars. <\/p>\n\n6. Pakan\u2019s 3 <\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 15×70<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\nThis little asterism is 3\u00b0 southwest of M50 and 2\u00b0 north of Theta (\u03b8) Canis Majoris. As long as you have a dark transparent sky, the number \u20183\u2019, which is composed from 11 (9th magnitude) stars, stands out from the background Milky Way. Spend a bit of time on it with mounted binoculars, when the colours of the stars, ranging from white to orange, become more perceptible.<\/span><\/p>\n\nPhoto: PETE LAWRENCE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This month\u2019s highlights include the Little Crab, a former 16th-century constellation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"54","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"54","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"February-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"February-2022","purple_external_id":"February-2022-54-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"February-2022-54-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086549||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086549||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178.jpg",2048,1223,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-300x179.jpg",300,179,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-768x459.jpg",768,459,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-1024x612.jpg",800,478,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-1536x917.jpg",1536,917,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178.jpg",2048,1223,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This month\u2019s highlights include the Little Crab, a former 16th-century constellation","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27952"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27952"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28692,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27952\/revisions\/28692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The 48 Greek constellations had gaps between them, and some of <\/span>these were filled with new constellations. For a few decades in the 16th century, Cancer Minor, proposed by Flemish astronomer Petrus Plancius, was one of these. This asterism of different coloured 5th magnitude stars extends 7\u00b0 from 85 Geminorum to 68 Geminorum, looking like a fainter version of Sagitta. It\u2019s 6\u00b0 south of Kappa (\u03ba) Geminorum.<\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Mekbuda (Zeta (\u03b6) Geminorum) is a Cepheid variable (mag. +3.6 to <\/span>+4.2) star. The period of a Cepheid is proportional to its luminosity (intrinsic brightness) so, merely by measuring its period, you can determine its distance by comparing its luminosity with magnitude. Mekbuda\u2019s period is 10.15 days, so you can obtain a light curve in a month. It is an easy, wide double star. <\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n If 10.15 days is too long for you and you want to watch a star complete its cycle of variability in a single session, this is the one for you! VZ Cancri oscillates between mag. +7.2 and +7.9 over a period of 4 hours 17 minutes. You\u2019ll find it midway between 49 and 36 Cancri. VZ is a RR Lyrae variable; it has a rapid rise in brightness followed by a dimming. <\/span><\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n RV Monocerotis is an altogether different experience. This red giant <\/span>star takes 121.3 days to cycle through magnitudes +6.9 and +7.7. It is classified as a semi-regular variable owing to its underlying periods of 91.8 and 1047 days. There are no bright markers nearby, so find it by taking a line from Alhena (Gamma (\u03b3) Geminorum) through Xi (\u03be) Geminorum and extending it a further 7.5\u00b0 \u2013 RV is the reddest star in the field of view.<\/span><\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n M50 lies 8\u00b0 from Delta (\u03b4) Monocerotis in the direction of <\/span>Theta (\u03b8) Canis Majoris. Expect to see a circular glow about half the Moon\u2019s apparent diameter. This comes from just over 100 stars, but you won\u2019t be able to resolve more than four or five, depending on the sky\u2019s darkness, in 10×50 binoculars. <\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 15×70<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n This little asterism is 3\u00b0 southwest of M50 and 2\u00b0 north of Theta (\u03b8) Canis Majoris. As long as you have a dark transparent sky, the number \u20183\u2019, which is composed from 11 (9th magnitude) stars, stands out from the background Milky Way. Spend a bit of time on it with mounted binoculars, when the colours of the stars, ranging from white to orange, become more perceptible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n Photo: PETE LAWRENCE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This month\u2019s highlights include the Little Crab, a former 16th-century constellation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"54","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"54","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"February-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"February-2022","purple_external_id":"February-2022-54-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"February-2022-54-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086549||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086549||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178.jpg",2048,1223,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-300x179.jpg",300,179,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-768x459.jpg",768,459,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-1024x612.jpg",800,478,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178-1536x917.jpg",1536,917,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/c53fd861-4b1f-4784-a225-ee2059645178.jpg",2048,1223,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This month\u2019s highlights include the Little Crab, a former 16th-century constellation","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27952"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27952"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28692,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27952\/revisions\/28692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. Mekbuda<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
3. VZ Cancri <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
4. RV Monocerotis<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
5. M50<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
6. Pakan\u2019s 3 <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n