Cancer constellation, characteristics, attributes and more ▷➡️ Postposmo

La cancer constellation It is formed by a set of stars, which form the figure of an imaginary crab in the starry sky. It occupies the fourth place among the signs of the zodiac and although it is the first of the water signs, its ruler is the moon, which symbolizes motherhood and the feminine, which is why both the moon and cancer symbolize emotions and loving nutrition. Find out more below.

Cancer Constellation

There are 12 constellations that make up the zodiac, and the constellation of Cancer belongs to one of them, its location is in the northern hemisphere and it has the 31st place of all the large constellations in space, occupying 506 square degrees of space, which can be seen between +90° and -60°.

The closest constellations are canis minor, Gemini, Hydra, Leo, Leo Minor y Lynx. Although this constellation is the least seen, because its stars have magnitude 4. It is also located between Gemini to the west and Leo to the east.

The name of cancer derives from the Latin crab y Cancer in ancient Greek, which literally symbolizes a crab, that is why this constellation has that name and the representation of a crab.

In this constellation there are a lot of very bright stars, which have a magnitude of 3,3, it has at least 250 stars and can be seen with just binoculars or a small telescope, that's why this constellation is very special. It also has stars called M44 and they are the largest group of stars that can be seen with the naked eye, when the sky is very dark.

It also has stars to the north and south known as Asellus borealis y australis asellus, which are the brightest stars in the constellation Cancer, but the brightest is Beta Cancri, Tarf aka o Al Tarf. Actually, what makes this constellation transcendent are the bunch of stars M44, which are called prasepe or the manger and that can be seen in the human eye from the ground, being able to notice all the stars that make it up and being the main star Epsilon Cancri, with 6,3 magnitude.

There is also M67, which is another beautiful cluster of stars that are located to the south of this constellation, they are more or less about five hundred stars that are 2.400 light years from us. These stars are older than the manger, estimated at 3.900 million years, with an angle of 30 'arc. In this constellation of Cancer, the star 55 is the most outstanding, because it has 5 planets that orbit around it, this system is very numerous within the solar system.

If you want to see the constellation of cancer in the astral space when during the winter, you should direct your gaze to the east. Although this constellation of cancer does not have stars that are very bright, it is usually difficult to find it to be able to appreciate it, being the best way to do it by locating other constellations that have more brightness, to use it as a guide and to be able to get this constellation . An example would be the constellation of Gemini, which is located next to the constellation of Leo. Another topic that may interest you about astrology is the Midheaven in Aquarius

main stars

The main stars that make up this extraordinary constellation of cancer in outer space are the following:

Alpha: called Acubens, Sertan o sartan, also known as pincer, has a size of 4,30 magnitude, is yellow in color, is 170 light years from ours, and is also much brighter than the Sun.
Beta: also called altarf, has a size of 3,5 magnitude, is the brightest star in this constellation, and is located in the southern limit of the Hydra. It is 290 light years away and is orange in color.
Range: also named asellus borealis or ass of the north, that's how he defined it Tolomeo in his Almagest. Its brightness is 4.6, it is white in color and it is 158 light years from our solar system.
delta: also named as asellus australis or ass of the south, this star is located in the center of the constellation, its shape is ecliptic, it has a size of 4.2 magnitude, its color is yellow and it is 136 light years from our galaxy.
Burbot: it is located in the northern space of this constellation, it has a yellow color and its size is 4,20 magnitude, it is 300 light years from our solar system and also forms a binary system that is separated by 30″ of arc.
RS Cancri: also called S star and is located in the asymptotic giant branch.
TX Cancri: this is a binary and eclipsing star, it is also a contact binary and forms the cluster M44.
VZ Cancri: is a variable star delta scuti of great extension.
WY Cancri: is an eclipsing two-element star, also variable is RS Canum Venaticorum and is 9,47 magnitude.
BS Cancri: is a variable star delta scutiy It constitutes part of the “Manger”.
DX Cancri: it is a very bright star and is located 11,82 light years from our solar system.
H.R.3617 or also call HD 78175, it is a multiple star and has a size of 6,87 magnitude.
GJ 1116 also called EI Cancri, is a binary system and is 17 light years from our solar system.
ross 619: it is a small red star and is 22,3 light years away.
LHS 2090 or also call glise 330, is a small red and dim star, it is 20,8 and 55,5 light years away from our solar system.

Mythology behind the Cancer constellation

This Cancer constellation has many mythological stories, as do the other zodiac constellations. Its stars are precise and have been marked since ancient times by the location of the Sun, when it is at the June solstice. According to the Mesopotamians, it was believed that there was a portal where the souls came from to reincarnate, just when they were in that position.

As for the Egyptian customs, this constellation of Cancer for them was the solar god Khepri, which symbolized fertility, life and also rebirth, which was represented by a celestial beetle. For the Greeks, cancer was a crab that wanted to pinch the toes of the feet. Hercules, when this character had a fight with an aberration called Hydra. But when Hercules was going to kill Hydra, the goddess Ivy sent a gigantic Crab to help her, even so Hercules he killed him, but she put him in the sky to glorify him by means of a constellation.

There is also another legend of the constellation of Cancer that has a lot to do with the donkeys inside the manger, because the gods Dionisio y Hephaestus They mounted on the backs of these donkeys, when they were fighting against the titans and to be able to approach them. Being very close to them, the donkeys began to bray, causing the fear and the flight of the giants. As a reward for what happened, they were placed in the sky inside the manger, so that they could rest for their excellent work.

This constellation of Cancer is part of the 12 constellations of the Zodiac, it is the constellation that is least appreciated in the sky because none of its stars are very large, since they have a magnitude of 4. It is located to the west of Gemini and to the east of Leo, specifically this constellation is between parallel 10º and 30º north and that is why it can be seen in November and April in the northern hemisphere and in summer in the southern hemisphere.

What do its stars hide and how do they relate to Hercules?

This story from Greek mythology is very important because it is closely related to the gods of the Olympus, and about the anger I had Ivy against Hercules, that is the wife of Zeuswho wanted revenge on him. Ivy she was very upset because her husband Zeus had had affairs with another woman and was born Hercules of that love, so they spent many years scheming how to destroy it. That is when the crab of this constellation enters this fantastic story. So Hercules had to perform 12 very difficult tests of the Olympus, to exonerate his guilt after he killed his entire family in a moment of fury.

He had to overcome each of these tests that were extremely complicated and he faced them all with great courage and power. One of the tests consisted of facing a frightening creature from Greek mythology: the Hidra, which was a monster that lived in the water, its shape was very similar to a reptile, but it had many snake heads and if one was cut off, two more heads would come out instead.

To make the situation much more difficult for Hercules, Ivy send to carcinos, a gigantic crab that lived in the lagoon of lerna and that it would have the possibility of pinching Hercules with its gigantic pincers, while he struggled with the Hidra to kill her.

This story has two versions regarding the final outcome of the crab, the first is that Hercules he crushed the crab and the other version told is that he kicked it so hard that it sent it straight into the sky, along with the stars.

Despite what the crab did, the Goddess Ivy She did not feel very happy with her work, so she placed it in a place in the sky that did not have vigorous stars, that shined a little less than the other constellations and that is why it is not as striking as the other constellations, because it does not fulfill effectively with what was entrusted to him.

Anyway, Ivy somehow decided to honor the work of the crab by sending it to the sky, not caring that it couldn't hurt Hercules, In this way, he created the constellation of Cancer, which is next to the constellation of Leo, which represents a lion and which is also related to the 12 tasks that were entrusted to him. Hercules. Many people fail to observe the figure of the crab in this constellation, what can be seen is an inverted "Y" in the cosmos. Another topic that may interest you about astrology, are the Water signs

Curiosities

People born under this zodiac sign of Cancer are very emotional, they have a lot of sensitivity and they are also very intuitive, they really like to delve into deep and intimate conversations. They have a prodigious memory, they criticize themselves, they really like family and home, giving them their support and protection.

Crabs usually live inside their shell to protect themselves, because they are very sensitive inside, this behavior also helps them hide their shyness, they are extremely distrustful, but they love to be filled with love and they also like to give love.

This constellation covers 505,9 square degrees of space.
It belongs to the fourth sign of the 12 that make up the zodiac.
The constellation of Cancer is located between the constellations of Gemini in the east, Lynx in the north, and the constellations of canis minor and Hydra to the south.
This constellation has no bright stars, since the stars are magnitude 4.
This sign belongs to the water element.
The Moon rules it.
He is represented by a Crab.
Those born between June 21 - July 22, belong to this sign.
This Cancer constellation can be seen in the northern and southern hemispheres.
The zodiac crosses the middle of the constellation at the end of July and beginning of August.
Cancer is 30º north of the Milky Way, so two beautiful multitudes of stars can be seen.
The Cancer Constellation can be seen at the end of autumn and until spring in the northern hemisphere, also in the southern hemisphere in the summer and autumn months.
It does not have very bright stars, its stars are very low, but it has the brightest star in the constellation called altarf, which is 500 times brighter than the sun itself.
The representation of the constellation of Cancer in the sky does not resemble a crab, rather it is an inverse "Y".
Cancer means crab in Latin.
The Tropic of Cancer is named after this constellation, because a line of latitude is marked far to the north and from there the sun can be seen clearly at the top.
The constellation of Cancer has foundations in the Babylonian constellation and is 3.000 years old, at that time it was called "The river crab".
owns the meteor shower Tau Cancrids.
This constellation has a lot of representation of stars, about 104 in total and 50 of them are visible to the naked eye, in the month of March it is more appreciated.

With the intention of complementing the information developed here about the Cancer Constellation, we leave you this video below, so that you can obtain more information about the crab constellation: