Constellation Camelopardalis (Giraffe)

The constellation of the Giraffe (lat. Camelopardalis) is relatively inconspicuous despite its area of 757 square degrees. The brightest of its stars, β Camelopardalis, is star with the magnitude 4.

History and How to spot Giraffe

Between the bright constellations Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Charioteer and Ursa Minor is an area in which are hardly any bright stars. Right here the Giraffe is located, which could not be seen until the invention of the telescopes. Jakob Bartsch created a rotatable star map in 1624 and placed the Giraffe in this "empty" area of the sky. The name "Camelopardalis" comes from the Greek language, as it was still used at that time as a scientific language. Since the Greeks did not know any giraffes, they imagined camels that were spotted like leopards - Camelopardalis. The constellation can be seen with a telescope all year in the northern hemisphere.