Find it in the sky
A faint constellation between Gemini and Leo, invisible under city lights. At its middle the Beehive Cluster glows like a mist in a dark sky. On March evenings.
Zodiac
Cancer
Cancer: the Copernicus system has at least seven planets.
Best in March, around 9 p.m.No. 31 of the 88 constellations by areaBrightest star Tarf (magnitude 3.53)8 stars in this guide
The drawings on these maps are the game’s, and don’t show exact positions in the sky.
Legend
In Greek myth Hera sends a giant crab against Heracles as he fights the Lernaean Hydra. The crab bites his foot and is crushed, and Hera sets it among the stars.
Sign
22 June to 22 July. In the real sky the Sun passes in front of Cancer from about 21 July to 10 August.
Its stars
Magnitude says how bright a star looks from here: the smaller the number, the brighter the star.
Piautos
Lambda Cancri
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 569 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 5.92
- Name
- Coptic, from a list of lunar stations; perhaps “the very same”; its origin is unknown
It spins fast: its surface moves at 188 km a second at least.
Copernicus
Rho¹ Cancri
- Type
- Orange star
- Distance
- about 41 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 5.96
- Name
- Named for the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (2015)
A binary with at least seven planets: five around Copernicus, two around its companion.
Nahn
Xi Cancri
- Type
- Yellow giant
- Distance
- about 410 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 5.16
- Name
- “The nose” (Persian)
A binary whose two stars circle each other every 4.66 years.
Asellus Borealis
Gamma Cancri
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 175 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.66
- Name
- “The northern donkey” (Latin)
In myth, one of the donkeys Dionysus and Silenus rode against the Titans; it stands just north of the Beehive.
Asellus Australis
Delta Cancri
- Type
- Orange giant
- Distance
- about 137 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.94
- Name
- “The southern donkey colt” (Latin)
The first recorded passing of Jupiter in front of a star was of this one, in 240 BC.
Acubens
Alpha Cancri
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 178 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.26
- Name
- “The claws” (Arabic)
A telescope shows its faint eleventh-magnitude companion.
Tegmine
Zeta¹ Cancri
- Type
- Yellow-white star
- Distance
- about 82 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.67
- Name
- “The shell” (of the crab)
At least four stars in two systems, which circle each other every 1,115 years.
Tarf
Beta Cancri
- Type
- Orange giant
- Distance
- about 303 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.53
- Name
- “The end, the edge” (Arabic)
A planet is thought to circle it: a giant of at least 7.8 Jupiters, once every 605 days.
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Sources: constellation areas follow the International Astronomical Union (IAU) boundaries; star values come from Wikipedia’s articles, based on Hipparcos and Gaia; the Sun’s dates come from EarthSky. Distances are rounded.