Stalking the mythical unicorn
This time we explore a constellation as elusive as the creature it represents, Monoceros – the Unicorn. Located east of Orion and in between the two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, Monoceros is a collection of faint stars lying along the plane of the Milky Way. With a name derived from the Greek monokeros meaning unicorn, it is one of a few star patterns in the northern hemisphere with a modern history
European cartographers first added the mythical beast to other established constellations in the early 17th Century. Dutch mapmaker, Petrus Plancius, included it on his celestial globe published around 1613. Jakob Bartsch, a German astronomer, used the Latin name, Unicornus and added it to his star charts in 1624.
In Chinese astronomy, portions of the asterisms called “the Four Great Channels” and “the Outer Kitchen” lie within the boundaries of Monoceros. Each of these asterisms are part of the seven mansions belonging to the Vermilion Bird of the South. The bird represents the South and summer season as the Sun makes its annual passage through this region of the sky during warmer months.
The unicorn has captivated the imagination of writers and historians for thousands of years. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, both prominent figures of ancient Western civilization, wrote of the unicorn. But the myth of the unicorn was largely unknown to common folk until its story became connected to religion and the spread of Christianity.
Mentions of the unicorn can be found throughout the Bible. Medieval allegory associates the unicorn with Christ noting that the creature can only be tamed by a virgin maiden. Later Catholic scholars presented this relationship as symbolic of the connection between Christ and the Virgin Mary.
While casual stargazers may be frustrated by the lack of bright stars in Monoceros, its location along the plane of the galaxy hosts many active regions of star formation. For those exploring the region by telescope, there are many must see objects. These targets include: Hubble’s variable nebula, the subject of the first official photograph through the 200 inch Palomar telescope; the Rosette nebula, a large stellar nursery that is just one part of a huge interstellar gas cloud; and another star forming region, the Cone nebula also known as the Madonna and Child.
To start your hunt for the shy and evasive unicorn, first look for the Winter Triangle formed by the bright stars Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon. You will find the reddish-orange star Betelgeuse to the upper left of Orion’s hourglass shape. Next locate Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Then, follow the distance spanned by your hand with thumb and little finger extended at arm’s length above Sirius to locate Procyon. If you are successful in your quest, you will become one of the few who can claim they caught a glimpse of the mythical unicorn.
