The Constellation Corona Borealis

by Dominic Ford
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Corona Borealis

Corona Borealis is one of the few constellations which clearly resembles the object it is named after: the northern crown.

The stars of the crown are mostly quite faint – only two are easily visible to the naked eye from a light-polluted site. But when viewed through binoculars, a ring of seven stars can be seen in a clear semi-circular arc.

They appear highest in the evening sky in the months around May, sandwiched between Bootes and Hercules.

Aside from the crown stars, Corona Borealis has little to offer. It is a small constellation, well away from the plane of the Milky Way, whose only deep sky objects are very faint galaxies.

In classical mythology, the northern crown is usually identified as the crown worn by Princess Ariadne of Crete when she married the god Dionysus.

Date First Appeared
Ancient
Sky Area
0.4% of the sky
178.7 square degrees
Messier Objects
Corona Borealis contains no Messier objects
Caldwell Objects
Corona Borealis contains no Caldwell objects
Neighbors
The following constellations neighbor Corona Borealis: Bootes, Hercules, Serpens Caput.
Corona Borealis Corona Borealis
The constellation Corona Borealis as it appears to the unaided eye. Roll mouse over to see labels.
Source: Stellarium.

Ashburn

Latitude:
Longitude:
Timezone:

39.04°N
77.49°W
EDT

Color scheme


Brightest Objects in Corona Borealis

Hover the pointer over the name of an object to highlight its position on the starchart to the right, or click to see more information.

Stars Open Clusters Globular Clusters Galaxies
Alphecca (mag 2.2) NGC 6137 (mag 12.4)
Nusakan (mag 3.6) NGC 6086 (mag 12.8)
γ-CrB (mag 3.8) NGC 6109 (mag 12.8)
ε-CrB (mag 4.1) NGC 5958 (mag 13.2)
θ-CrB (mag 4.2) NGC 6131 (mag 13.3)
δ-CrB (mag 4.6) NGC 6104 (mag 13.6)
τ-CrB (mag 4.7) NGC 6126 (mag 13.6)
κ-CrB (mag 4.8) NGC 6107 (mag 13.8)
ξ-CrB (mag 4.9) NGC 5961 (mag 13.8)
ι-CrB (mag 5.0) NGC 5974 (mag 14.2)
ζ²-CrB (mag 5.0) NGC 6001 (mag 14.3)
η-CrB (mag 5.0) NGC 6120 (mag 14.3)
μ-CrB (mag 5.1) NGC 6038 (mag 14.3)
ν¹-CrB (mag 5.2) NGC 6103 (mag 14.4)
ν²-CrB (mag 5.4) NGC 6085 (mag 14.5)
ρ-CrB (mag 5.4) NGC 6117 (mag 14.6)
λ-CrB (mag 5.4) NGC 6097 (mag 14.7)
O-CrB (mag 5.5) NGC 6142 (mag 14.7)
TZ CrB (mag 5.6) NGC 6129 (mag 14.7)
π-CrB (mag 5.6) IC 4572 (mag 14.8)
HIP 78276 (mag 5.6) IC 4582 (mag 14.8)
HIP 79358 (mag 5.6) NGC 6077 (mag 14.8)
υ-CrB (mag 5.8) IC 4569 (mag 14.9)
HIP 78649 (mag 5.8) NGC 6112 (mag 14.9)
R CrB (mag 5.9) IC 4590 (mag 14.9)
ζ¹-CrB (mag 5.9) NGC 6016 (mag 15.0)
η-CrB (mag 6.1) IC 1208 (mag 15.0)
HIP 76617 (mag 6.1) NGC 6108 (mag 15.1)
HIP 79686 (mag 6.1) IC 4570 (mag 15.1)
HIP 76366 (mag 6.3) NGC 6069 (mag 15.1)
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