March to May
Spring Constellations
Six constellations visible from the Northern Hemisphere during spring include the following:
- Bootes
- Cancer
- Crater
- Hydra
- Leo
- Virgo
Bootes, known as the Herdsman, contains the supergiant red star Arcturus, which is 37 light-years from Earth and is 20 times larger than our sun. It is one of the largest constellations in the sky. To find Bootes, Follow the ‘Arc’ of the Plough handle to ‘Arc’turus
The constellation’s name comes from the Greek word, Boōtēs, which means ox driver, plowman, or herdsman. The correct pronunciation is /boʊˈoʊtɨs/, with each ‘o’ pronounced separately and stress on the second syllable. Boötes was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
The constellation is home to Arcturus, the third individual brightest star in the night sky, after Sirius in Canis Major and Canopus in Carina constellation. Boötes has five stars with known planets and does not contain any Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Arcturus, Alpha Boötis, which is also the third brightest star in the night sky. There are three meteor showers associated with the constellation Boötes: the January Bootids, the June Bootids, and the Quadrantids.
Cancer constellation is located in the northern sky. Its name means “the crab” in Latin.
Cancer is the faintest of the 12 zodiac constellations. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
Cancer contains a number of famous deep sky objects, among them the open cluster Praesepe, also known as the Beehive Cluster (Messier 44), the open cluster Messier 67, and the interacting spiral galaxies NGC 2535 and NGC 2536.
Cancer is the 31st largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 506 square degrees. It lies in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ2) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -60°. The neighboring constellations are Canis Minor, Gemini, Hydra, Leo, Leo Minor, and Lynx.
Cancer contains two Messier objects – the Beehive Cluster (M44, NGC 2632) and M67 (NGC 2682) – and has two stars with known planets. The brightest star in the constellation is Al Tarf, Beta Cancri. The Delta Cancrids are the only meteor shower associated with the constellation.
Crater constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “the cup” in Latin.
Crater is one of the Greek constellations. In mythology, it represents the cup of the Greek god Apollo. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
Crater is relatively faint, with no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. There are also few notable deep sky objects in the constellation. Most galaxies found in Crater are magnitude 12 or fainter. One of these, the Crater 2 dwarf galaxy, is the fourth largest dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, but it went undetected until April 2016 because it is also one of the lowest surface brightness dwarfs.
Crater is the 53rd constellation in size, occupying an area of 282 square degrees. It is located in the second quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ2) and can be seen at latitudes between +65° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Corvus, Hydra, Leo, Sextans, and Virgo.
Crater has three stars with known planets and contains no Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Delta Crateris, with an apparent magnitude of 3.56. There is one meteor shower associated with the constellation; the Eta Craterids.
In Greek mythology, the Crater constellation represents the cup of the god Apollo. The cup is usually depicted as a two-handed chalice. The constellation is associated with the story of Apollo and his sacred bird, either the crow or the raven, which is represented by the neighbouring constellation Corvus.
In the story, the god Apollo is about to make a sacrifice on the altar and he needs some water to perform the ritual. The god sends the raven to promptly fetch some water in his cup, but the bird gets distracted by a fig tree and spends a few days lazily resting and waiting for the figs to ripen.
Hydra is the longest and, in terms of area, the largest constellation in the sky. In Greek mythology, Hydra was a multiheaded serpent that grew its heads back immediately after being cut off. As one of his 12 labors, Hercules slayed Hydra.
Hydra, the water snake, is the largest constellation in the sky.
Hydra’s head is located south of the constellation Cancer and its tail between Centaurus and Libra. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It represents the Lernaean Hydra from the Greek myth of Heracles’ Twelve Labours. Sometimes it is taken to represent the water snake from the myth about the crow that tried to trick the god Apollo by blaming the snake for its tardiness in fetching the god some water
Notable deep sky objects in Hydra include the open cluster Messier 48, the globular cluster Messier 68, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 83), the Hydra Cluster of galaxies, the Porpoise Galaxy (NGC 2936), Tombaugh’s Globular Cluster (NGC 5694), the Ghost of Jupiter nebula, and the spiral galaxy ESO 510-G13.
Leo constellation lies in the northern sky. It is one of the zodiac constellations and one of the largest constellations in the sky.
Leo represents the lion and is usually associated with the Nemean lion in Greek mythology. Its symbol is The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, along with all the other constellations of the zodiac.
Leo constellation is home to the bright stars Regulus and Denebola, the nearby star Wolf 359, and to a number of famous deep sky objects, among them galaxies Messier 65, Messier 66, Messier 95, Messier 96, Messier 105, and NGC 3628.
Leo is the 12th largest constellation in size, occupying an area of 947 square degrees. It is located in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ2) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -65°. The neighboring constellations are Cancer, Coma Berenices, Crater, Hydra, Leo Minor, Lynx, Sextans, Ursa Major and Virgo.
Leo contains five Messier objects: Messier 65 (M65, NGC 3623), Messier 66 (M66, NGC 3627), Messier 95 (M95, NGC 3351), Messier 96 (M96, NGC 3368), and Messier 105 (M105, NGC 3379). It has 11 stars with known planets.
Virgo, known as the Maiden, contains Spica as one of its stars. Spica is 260 light-years away from Earth and is 100 times brighter than the sun. Scientists believe Spica actually consists of two stars orbiting each other very closely.
Virgo constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “virgin” in Latin. The constellation is represented by the symbol.
Virgo is one of the 12 zodiac constellations, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It contains Spica, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It also contains the autumn equinox point, which lies close to the star Beta Virginis. This is one of the two points in the sky (the other being in the constellation Pisces) where the celestial equator intersects with the ecliptic. Virgo is the second largest constellation in the sky. The only constellation larger in size is Hydra.
Virgo is the second largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 1294 square degrees. It is located in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +80° and -80°.
Virgo contains eleven Messier objects: Messier 49 (M49, NGC 4472), Messier 58 (M58, NGC 4579), Messier 59 (M59, NGC 4621), Messier 60 (M60, NGC 4649), Messier 61 (M61, NGC 4303), Messier 84 (M84, NGC 4374), Messier 86 (M86, NGC 4406), Messier 87 (M87, NGC 4486), Messier 89 (M89, NGC 4552), Messier 90 (M90, NGC 4569) and Messier 104 (M104, NGC 4594, Sombrero Galaxy).
Virgo also has 20 stars with known planets, more than any other constellation. The brightest star in the constellation is Spica, Alpha Virginis, with an apparent magnitude of 0.98. There are two meteor showers associated with the constellation; the Virginids and the Mu Virginids.
Constellation Maps by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine
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