Welcome to Learn the Sky! Your online resource for learning about the stars and constellations.
Welcome! My name is Janine and in this video we will be exploring the constellation known as
Monoceros the Unicorn. Monoceros is a fairly new constellation to me. It's one that I was never
really familiar with, but what I didn't realize is that I've actually been looking at it for many,
many years because it sits right next to Orion, Canis Major, and Canis Minor. It's just a really
really faint constellation and it's difficult to see. Even though it's hard to see there are
some really fantastic celestial objects that are located in the boundaries of this constellation.
Let's get a broad overview of Monoceros the Unicorn. It is a modern constellation that was
introduced in 1612 by Dutch Uranographer Petrus Plancius. I hope I'm saying that correctly and
forgive me if I'm not. The name Monoceros is Latin for Unicorn and it's classified as a
seasonal constellation. It's best seen in the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere.
So, how did this constellation come to be? It was first depicted in 1612 under the name Monoceros
Unicornis on a globe by the Dutch Theologian and Cartographer, Petrus Plancius. He was one of the
founders of the Dutch East India Company and he drew over a hundred maps for them. In 1595,
Plancius trained Pieter Keyser who was one of the chief pilots on the dutch ship Hollandia.
He was trying to make astronomical observations to fill in blank areas around the
South Celestial Pole. Of course, European maps didn't really have the southern skies in there
because they were unexplored at the time. However, Keyser died the following year, but his catalog
continued on with the help of Frederick de Houtman. Again, I hope I'm saying that properly.
He was another Dutch voyager on the Hollandia. This catalog was eventually
delivered to Plancius and he developed eight new constellations. Those constellations
are listed here, but the only two that really survived were Camelopardalis the Giraffe,
I've also seen it being depicted as a camel, and also Monoceros the Unicorn. So that's how this
constellation came to be. Then, it appeared in Johannes Hevelius volumes showing the different
star maps across the sky from that particular time. Actually in 1690 I should say.
So, when do you see it? The best time to see it is in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter
months in the Northern Hemisphere. You really want to look for Orion. Monoceros is to the
East of Orion. The best way to find this is really to look for the Winter Asterism Triangle. I have a
whole video about asterisms. If you want to learn more about what those are, they're not really true
constellations but patterns that we can make in the sky that can help you navigate across the sky,
go check out that video. You really need extremely dark skies to see it because most of the stars
are of fourth magnitude. So let's get some practice with how to identify it.
Let's review the pattern that Monoceros makes across the sky. Here we have the official star
map of Monoceros. As you can see many of the stars are really, really faint. If you look at the
magnitude scale, right here, most of the stars are fifth and fourth magnitude. Some of the other
things that may have stand out to you are these other really bright stars that lie right next to
Monoceros. These three bright stars right here make up the winter asterism known as the Winter
Triangle. So, if you can find the Winter Triangle, you can find Monoceros or at least the pattern
might be really really difficult to point out in the sky. I personally cannot say with confidence that
I have pointed out the pattern of Monoceros. I just know the general area in which it's located.
So that's how I find it. I may not necessarily point out the pattern but I know the general
overview of where it's located in the sky. So let's get some practice with how to find it.
As you're looking at this at this picture, the thing that probably stands out to you the most
is Orion. It's the one constellation that most people can recognize. You can also see Canis
Major right down here with the brightest star Sirius as well as Canis Minor. If we were to
point out where Monoceros is, that's where it's located. If we were to toggle back and forth
If you find it challenging to find that star pattern well I could say join the club. It's
really difficult to see. I kind of like to think of this as kind of his little his horn,
then this is its head, and then the legs. However, like most other constellations this is one that
really doesn't resemble a unicorn in my opinion. If we were to point out the winter asterism,
or the Winter Triangle asterism, it's located right here. If you go from this bright star
right here over to Procyon, this is Betelgeuse or Beetlejuice. There's lots of different ways
to pronounce it. I recognize that, but if you kind of draw a line from Bellatrix to Betelgeuse
over to Procyon, which is in Canis Minor, then you can find this general area of where Monoceros is.
If we were to back up here, there are some pretty amazing features.
One, this is a little nebula called the Rosette Nebula. Then, there's another fascinating object
i'm going to point out right here. That's what Monoceros is known for really- the celestial
objects that sit within its boundaries. Here we have another star map. I love this picture
because it shows you most of the winter sky constellations. We have Orion, we have Taurus, we
have Auriga, here is Perseus, we have Gemini, Canis Minor, and then Canis Major. So can you point out to
Monoceros? If you can't that's quite all right. It is challenging to see, but use that strategy I just
taught you. Use the shoulders of Orion, draw a line through towards Procyon, and then this is where
at least the horn of the unicorn is. If we were to point everything out here, this is what it looks
like in the sky. So Monoceros has really, really faint stars which makes it challenging to find.
Even if you can't necessarily see the stars of the pattern you should at least be able to identify
where it's generally located. Let's get one more picture here just to get some more practice.
Here you can see Orion, right there you have Canis Minor, and here you have a
portion of Canis Major. So again, use the shoulder stars of Orion, draw a line,
and then here is where Monoceros- or this whole general area is. I didn't even point it out
on this picture because I really think it's challenging to find the pattern of Monoceros.
Now let's take a look at some of the celestial objects that are seated in the boundaries of
Monoceros. It may not be the star pattern that stands out in the sky with this
constellation, but really the celestial objects that are located in its boundaries
are really quite amazing. So let's unpack this here and see what's here. Here you can see the
pattern of Monoceros. The stars are very, very faint but I circled where all these interesting objects
are located. If we were to label them first we have NGC 2264. There is a lot going on here so I'm
not going to explain it right at this moment but later in the video.You have the Rosette Nebula, NGC
2232 which is an open star cluster, you have the Seagull Nebula which is right along the border of
Canis Major and Monoceros, and then you have Messier Object 50 which is another star cluster. So let's
dive in and take a look at some of these objects. The first one is the Rosette Nebula and this
is really a gorgeous object to see if you have magnification. In fact, it's not just a nebula.
There's a star cluster located in here as well. It's estimated to be 5,000 light years away.
What's going on here is that these young stars are exciting the gases and atoms
within this cloudy area, causing it to glow. If we were to zoom in here, the colors, I
believe, are enhanced in this photo. What that allows us to see is the detail of all
the cloud structures in here. You can clearly see where this star cluster is and it's estimated,
for the distance of this, to be 130 light years across. If you were to find this, if we were
going to zoom out here, this is where the Rosette Nebula is. Here's where Orion is. You use the
shoulder stars to help you find Monoceros. So draw a line across the shoulders of Orion and it brings
you to the three stars-
I like to think of it as the horn of the unicorn. This is where the Rosette Nebula is located.
If you want to see this, I recommend you seek out dark skies in order to find it.
The next feature I want to show you is that of the Christmas Tree Nebula. In fact there
really is a lot going on here. If we were to point this out- here's where the Rosette Nebula is,
and this is where the Christmas Tree Nebula is as well as the Foxfur Nebula, the co-nebula
and another star cluster. So if we were to point this out, that's what we are looking at. So you
can kind of see that Christmas Tree like shape. You can see this is a triangular shape and the
pattern that the stars make. There are some other features I want to label as well.
This whole region is known as NGC 2264. If we were to point out where everything is
it has many different celestial objects in it. First you have the Cone Nebula which I
circled in green. Then, you have the Christmas Tree Nebula, right here, that makes that triangular shape.
Inside there, you have the Snowflake Cluster and down here you have the Fox Fur Nebula. I'll
never forget the first time I saw a photo of this. I was like, "Wow! That really does look like
a fox fur." If we were to take a look in here and zoom in- this whole area by the way is
is classified as an emission and absorption nebula. So, an emission nebula is where it's
glowing. Then, an absorption nebula are like the dark areas within this nebula where light
is not able to pass through because of the dense gas. So here is the Cone Nebula. Also like I said,
designated as NGC 2264. It's estimated to be 2,700 light years away. This is an area of star
birth. In here you have young stars that are being born. Next, we have the Snowflake Cluster.
This area right here is where the Snowflake Cluster is. I, myself, don't quite see a snowflake
pattern but this picture is amazing because it was taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
What it reveals in here are newborn stars. So the little pink and red dots in here is where there's
new stars being born. Astronomers nicknamed this the Snowflake Cluster because it resembles
that shape. Almost like spokes on a wheel. Next, we have the Fox Fur Nebula. If you're struggling
to see that shape in there- I imagine this would be the head of the fox and down here is where the
the fur part of the fox would be. So I encourage you to try to find this amazing celestial object.
If you would look at it in the sky, it wouldn't necessarily look like this. Remember these
photos are long exposure photos and you have to take pictures for a prolonged amount of time in
order for these features to show up. For me, I definitely see that Christmas tree shape. I see the
Cone Nebula. I see the Fox Fur Nebula. Right in here is where the snowflake cluster is, as well the
final celestial objects we'll take a look at is known as the Seagull Nebula. This is one that,
again, it resembles the shape of it does resemble- a seagull. It's designated as IC 2177 and
it's emission nebula estimated to be 3, 650 light years away. Here is another view of this. I just
love this photo. You can kind of see the shape of the wings, right here. This would be the head
of the bird. So again, this is a long exposure photo that allows the gases to be seen on the photograph.
We've come to the end of our video about Monoceros the Unicorn, so let's review everything we've
learned so far. It's best seen in the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere. It's classified as
a seasonal constellation. The best way to find it is to use the Winter Triangle. Monoceros is
really sandwiched in between this asterism. There really are no particular bright stars. In fact,
most of the constellation is pretty faint so it makes it difficult to find. However there are some
amazing celestial objects to point out including M50, the Rosette Nebula, the Christmas Tree Cluster,
the Cone Nebula. In general this is the NGC 2264 that is located in this area right here.
Then the Rosette Nebula is located here. So I wish you luck finding Monoceros. I feel the only
way you're going to point out that star pattern is if you have extremely dark skies. I have
observed in dark skies before, but have struggled to find this particular pattern. Even so
I can easily point out the Winter Triangle. If can point out the Winter Triangle, then I know that
Monoceros is kind of centered right within it with the exception of this part.
So I wish you luck trying to find Monoceros. It is one of those modern constellations that has
survived over the ages and is now an official star pattern of the International Astronomical Union.
Remember, it takes time, patience, and practice to find the constellations.
It took me over a decade to really get comfortable finding as many constellations as I can in the
Northern Hemisphere, where I live. Thank you so much for watching! Good luck, keep looking
up, and stay safe out there! I'd also like to give a big shout out and thank you to David
Cocklin for allowing me to use some of his photos of Monoceros and Orion in the winter sky. Be sure
to check him out on twitter. He has some amazing photos that i just love seeing. Thank you David.