Camelopardalis, Latin for giraffe, is the name of a large but faint northern constellation first recorded by Jakob Bartsch in 1624, but probably created earlier by Petrus Plancius.

Notable features

Although Camelopardalis is the 18th largest constellation, it is not a particularly bright constellation, as the brightest stars are only of fourth magnitude.

β Camelopardalis is the brightest star, at apparent magnitude 4.03. This star is a double star, with components of magnitudes 4.0 and 7.4.

The second brightest is CS Camelopardalis (which has neither a Bayer nor Flamsteed designation). It is of magnitude 4.21 (slightly variable).

In some astronomical reference books, one will often see an alternate spelling of this constellation as Camelopardis.

Notable deep sky objects

NGC 2403 is a spiral galaxy approximately 11 million light years distant. It is of magnitude 8.4. NGC 1502 is an open cluster around 6,800 light years distant. It is of magnitude 6.0.

Mythology

Camelopardalis has no mythology associated with its stars, as it is a modern constellation, first recorded by Jakob Bartsch. The faintness of the constellation, and that of the nearby constellation Lynx, lead to the early Greeks considering this area of the sky to be empty, thus as a desert.

However, as a desert, this may, together with other features in the Zodiac sign of Gemini (i.e. the Milky Way, and the constellations Gemini, Orion, Auriga, and Canis Major), this may be the origin of the myth of the cattle of Geryon, which forms one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles.

Table of leading stars

The following table lists all stars in Camelopardalis with a Bayer or Flamsteed designation, as well as all stars brighter than magnitude 4.50.

Source: The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.