Constellations are memorable maps to the stars, dating back many thousands of years.

Many of the constellations are associated with the Gods and Godesses of ancient Greek mythology.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has divided the sky into 88 official constellations with exact boundaries, so that every direction or location in the sky belongs to one constellation. Astronomers use this as a rough guideline for location objects, e.g. when they say that Mars is in the constellation of Gemini, it can be found within the borders of the constellation. The constellations that the Sun pass through each year are known as the Zodiac.

Corona Borealis

The Northern Crown

Corona Borealis is a small northern constellation whose main stars form a semicircular arc.

Corona Borealis Mythology

Corona Borealis was sometimes considered to represent a crown that was given by Dionysus to Ariadne, the daughter of Minos of Crete.

Further Information

Corona Borealis contains no bright deep sky objects. It has no first magnitude stars. Its brightest star, α CrB (also known as Gemma) is of magnitude 2.2 (slightly variable) and is considered a member of the diffuse Ursa Major Moving Group.

Corona Borealis Photographs

 

Taken on 2005-07-15, 1 views