Find it in the sky
A small semicircle of stars between Boötes and Hercules, bright Alphecca at its middle. On June evenings.
Northern sky
Corona Borealis
Corona Borealis: the Blaze Star flared up in 1866 and 1946.
Best in June, around 9 p.m.No. 73 of the 88 constellations by areaBrightest star Alphecca (magnitude 2.24)6 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 it is the crown the god Dionysus gave the Cretan princess Ariadne, and she set it in the heavens. Other cultures saw a circle of elders, an eagle’s nest, a bear’s den or a smokehole.
Its stars
Magnitude says how bright a star looks from here: the smaller the number, the brighter the star.
Guansuo
Theta Coronae Borealis
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 380 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.14
- Name
- From the Chinese asterism “the Coiled Thong”
It spins so fast that its disk of gas is thought to have formed from the spin.
Nusakan
Beta Coronae Borealis
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 112 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.68
- Name
- “The two lines” (Arabic): two rows of stars
Its light pulses about every 16 minutes.
Alphecca
Alpha Coronae Borealis
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 75 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.24
- Name
- “The bright one of the broken ring” (Arabic); its Latin name Gemma means “jewel”
Its two stars pass in front of each other every 17.36 days.
Baltesha
Gamma Coronae Borealis
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 146 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.83
- Name
- Sumerian: the asterism “of Dignity”
Its brightness ripples about every 43 minutes.
Matrichakra
Delta Coronae Borealis
- Type
- Yellow giant
- Distance
- about 167 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.63
- Name
- “The circle” in Indian astronomy
Once a blue-white star, now a yellow giant.
Aurwandilsta
Iota Coronae Borealis
- Type
- White giant
- Distance
- about 372 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.96
- Name
- “Aurvandil’s toe” (Old Norse)
Rich in mercury and manganese; it circles a companion every 35.5 days.
Reading isn’t enough
Play two boards in your browser now. No download, no account.
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.