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Camelopardalis
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Ursa major constellation illustration art. (Big Dipper) stars, space, night sky)
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Latin:
“Giraffe”
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Camelopardalis

astronomy
Written by
Erik Gregersen
Erik Gregersen is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica, specializing in the physical sciences and technology. Before joining Britannica in 2007, he worked at the University of Chicago Press on the...
Erik Gregersen
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Camelopardalis, constellation in the northern sky at about 6 hours right ascension and 70° north in declination. Its brightest star is Beta Camelopardalis, with a magnitude of 4.0. Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius introduced this constellation on a celestial globe he made in 1612 and represented it as a giraffe. Because this area of the sky contains only faint stars, it had not been ascribed to a constellation earlier.

Erik Gregersen
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