We begin with the mythology that surrounds Cancer the Crab. Out of all the
zodiacal constellations that exist, Cancer really is one of the most
inconspicuous. It's stars are pretty faint and unless you live in an area
where there's very little light pollution, Cancer can definitely be a
challenge to find. For me I was able to figure out where this constellation was
by finding Gemini, which has two really bright stars as an easy pattern, and by
finding Leo, which also has a very distinctive pattern. Using a
star chart, I realized that Cancer sat right in the middle of these two. I
was able to figure out it was Cancer based upon this star cluster that
sits right in the middle of the constellation. It's really beautiful
to look at if you're able to magnify it through binoculars or a telescope.
When I first found this cluster I wanted to know more about it and I was really
pleased to find a rich history that surrounds a celestial object. We'll talk
about that a little bit later in the video. Just remember a theme
throughout this video will be that if you can find Gemini, and if you can find
Leo, you should be able to figure out where Cancer is, because it's right in
between them. The key is also making sure you're away from light pollution
and you have a very, very dark sky. In terms of how Cancer got its name there
is some debate out there is - how the name originated. Some believe that in
this region of the sky, it was named for the crab because at one time the Sun was
moving through cancer. Then it stopped moving northward and then
started to move south. This backward motion of the Sun was much like a crab
being able to walk backwards. This could have been one of the reasons this
area of the sky was named after a crab. But, the most famous legend that comes to
mind when talking about Cancer is the Legend of Hercules, or Heracles in
the Roman version. A crab was sent by Hera, the ever jealous God, who is always
challenging Hercules. She sent a crab to distract him while he was fighting the
many headed monster known as Hydra. Cancer only really nicked Hercules heel
and then he was crushed. So, Hera placed the crab up in the sky to honor his
bravery. Over time there have been different stories, but this is out of all
the research I've done this is the main one that keeps popping up everywhere.
In other legends, Cancer has been depicted in many different ways. For
example, some cultures like the Greeks saw a crab. The Egyptians identified
Cancer as a scarab beetle. The Babylonians saw the crab, and also a
snapping turtle in other regions of Babylonia. There's another Latin
translation that depicts cancer as a crayfish. Even in the early 17th
century, cancer was identified as a lobster as to what you can see here. What
is interesting is that even though the creatures buried throughout time and
cultures, Cancer has always been depicted as an animal that has a hard exoskeleton
and lives in water. That really is an amazing thing that many
different cultures saw something different, but similar. As a reminder,
Cancer is sandwiched in between two very prominent constellations: Leo and Gemini.
Cancer really is that transition from going into the winter
constellations and moving into the spring constellations. So you're gonna be
able to see it towards the end of winter depending on where you are on
the Earth- that also has something to do with it. But you can see it
in late February, if you stay out late into, March, April, and May. I'm
recording this now it's the month of July and I can still see cancer, but I
also live in Hawaii and about 20 degrees latitude. So, that allows me to see more
constellations for a longer period of time. I'd like to say this is an easy
constellation to find, but it is a little challenging because the stars in it are
so faint. If you live in a place with lots of light pollution, chances are you
may not be able to identify this. Its stars are only that about 4th magnitude
but you really want to be able to look for this star cluster which I will teach
you about, coming up. So without further ado let's get into the pattern of what
Cancer looks like. So here is a picture of Cancer. There are some other
constellations in here, but only partial constellations. As you look
at this photograph, I want you to start observing what is it that
stands out to you, what draws your eye when you look at this picture.
Do you see bright stars? Do you see any clusters of stars? Hopefully- and again
I always encourage you if you want more time to look at this it's good you can
always hit pause and try to figure out what you're looking at- as we move on
this is where Cancer is located. That's its pattern. If we move back to this
picture I'm hoping that this star cluster is what stood out to you.
That cluster is known as the Beehive Cluster, that's one of its many
names, it's also Messier object 44. We'll go into detail about that in a
little bit. But hopefully you were able to see this star cluster when I
originally pointed out the constellation. If you also notice these bright stars
that's excellent. These are the heads of Gemini we have Pollux and Castor. If you
notice this star right here, this is Procyon one of the bright
stars of Canis Minor the Small Dog. It's good to kind of realize
what else we're looking here. As I will constantly remind you Cancer is
situated between Gemini and Leo. Leo's not part of this picture, but here is the
basic shape. To me I kind of see an upside down y and yes you will have to
use some imagination as to, "oh my goodness what how did people see this as
a crab". Well you know you have to be creative and use your imagination, but
one thing I will point out to you is that I want you to notice how its
situated. You always notice that there's a claw down here and cancer is facing
Leo. So if you would come back here this would be a claw possibly, this could be a
claw, maybe this represents the legs? I say that with a question mark, because
again I don't really see a crab here. But not all constellation patterns really
match up with what they're supposed to look like.
Here's another image of what Cancer the Crab looks like. Notice the upside down Y
shape. Then I like you also to notice Gemini right here, where you can see
Pollux and Castor. Then right down here you have Canis Minor which has
another bright star called Procyon. Of course notice that Cancer is
situated between Gemini and Leo. What I want you to look for in the next
picture are some of these bright stars. Then you're going to look for M44,
the Beehive cluster to see if you can find it.
So remember from the last picture- I'm hoping that you find Pollux and Castor
the two bright stars of Gemini. Then Procyon which is the bright star in
Canis Minor. if you can find those three stars move to the left side of the
screen. Notice if who you can find the Beehive cluster. Keep in mind that it
does take time to get yourself use to the patterns, being able to find them,
and remembering what they are. So let's take a look at our answer here you have
Gemini, Pollux, and Castor. Canis
Minor is right down here with a bright star Procyon. You can find these three-
hopefully you were able to find the Beehive Cluster which is in the
constellation of Cancer. Now that I've taught you the pattern of Cancer, let's
go through and look at some of the stars. If we take a look at this depiction of
Cancer, notice how the stars are not as bright as some of its next-door
neighbors. What you want to start to notice is the two bright stars of Gemini
then the bright star in Canis Minor. If you can find these three stars-
all you have to know is that Cancer sits right next to it. So here is our picture
of cancer, again, look towards the center of the photo and you should see
the bright star cluster called MM44. From there try to find the upside-down Y
shape. You'll also probably notice Castor and Pollux the bright stars of Gemini.
And just a part of the bright star called Procyon in Canis Minor. Here's the
shape. Let's look at what the names of some of these stars are. So we have
Acubens which is Arabic for claws. This star is 174 light-years away. Next we
have Al Tarf, again, another Arabic name which means
for the end. This star is 290 light-years away. Then we have these two stars
sitting right next to each other. We have Asellus Borealis
which stands for the northern ass. It is 181 light-years away.
Then Asellus Australis, this stands for the southern ass or donkey. This
one is 131 light-years away. There's some interesting mythology about both of
these stars. According to the Greeks, these stars represented the donkeys that
the god Dionysus and his tutor, Salinas, rode in on the war against the Titans.
These donkeys frightened the Titans and the war against them was won. So the gods
placed the donkeys up in the sky to honor them. That's a little bit of an
interesting story there for you about those stars. Finally we're going to take
a look at the celestial objects within Cancer. So looking at our star map here
there's two that we are gonna focus on one is M44 and the other is M67. The
location of M44 is right between the two stars that represented the donkey.
It's really a spectacular star cluster this one is called Messier 44.
It's an open star cluster which means it's relatively young in the
history of the universe on the order of millions of years. It's about
515 light years away and to the unaided eye it looks like a fuzzy patch
in the sky. It has been called the Beehive Cluster by early observers
because of its resemblance to a swarm of bees. The name has since stuck in
modern times. Some ancient cultures believed they were peering into the
floor of heaven called the gate of men, where the souls descended from heaven to
Earth to be born. It has also been called Praesepe II. This star cluster
played a very important role in the history of astronomy. Galileo was the
first to turn his telescope to this fuzzy patch in the sky.
He discovered it was a star cluster and this cluster that he discovered along
with many other observations made by Galileo really became the catalyst to
the scientific revolution- the idea is that the universe were
laid out by us. Aristotle, so many years ago, just began to shift once
Galileo started to change the old beliefs with his observations of the sky.
Our final celestial object within Cancer is called M67.
It is another open star cluster. It's located towards the bottom
of the Y here. It's not as bright as M44 is, but it still is worth taking a
look at through your binoculars their telescope if you have one. So it is about
2,700 light-years away. Being that it's an open star cluster it is again
relatively young on the order of millions of years. We consider that
young because the age of the universe is on the order of billions of years. So
this star cluster is one that is relatively young. To review. Cancer the
Crab is best seen in the springtime. It is a zodiacal
constellation, which means that the Sun, the planets, and the Moon all pass
through the borders of this constellation. The best way to find it is
looking for Gemini. If you can find the two bright stars of Castor and
Pollux, you just need to shift your gaze and try to find the fuzzy patch in the
sky. In terms of bright stars, this is not one that has very many bright stars at
all. In fact the way I am able to identify this in the sky is by looking
at the celestial object called the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe, also known
as M44. The other celestial object is located down towards the bottom of the
constellation and that is another open star cluster. Thank you so much for
watching! I hope this was helpful and you were able to learn more
about how to identify Cancer in the sky, and the objects that are situated within
its borders.