Corona Borealis constellation
Latin Corona Borealis, genitive Coronae Borealis, abbreviation CrB
North up, east to the left, as you see the sky. The lines are a common figure; the stars are from the catalogue.
The myth
The crown Dionysus gave Ariadne at their wedding after Theseus had left her on Naxos; he threw it into the sky. A small, almost closed semicircle of stars between Boötes and Hercules.
When can Corona Borealis be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in June. It can be seen from everywhere north of 52°S, and it never sets north of 64°N.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alphecca | α CrB | 2.23 | bluish |
| Nusakan | β CrB | 3.68 | white |
| – | γ CrB | 3.84 | white |
| – | θ CrB | 4.14 | bluish |
| – | ε CrB | 4.15 | orange |
| – | δ CrB | 4.63 | yellow |
| – | τ CrB | 4.76 | orange |
| – | κ CrB | 4.82 | orange |
The smaller the number, the brighter: below 1 are the brightest stars of the sky, 4 is hard to see under a city sky. Greek letters after Johann Bayer (1603).