Camelopardalis is considered a winter constellation, best seen from November through March. It stretches from the pole star southward toward the constellations of Cassiopeia and Ursa Major. It is formed by a loose association of faint stars. This constellation is known for the Perseid meteor shower which radiates near its border with Perseus.
History and Mythology
The Greeks regarded Camelopardalis, the giraffe, as having the head of a camel and the spots of a leopard. Camelopardalis was introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Helvelius in 1690. It was first outlined by German astronomer Jakob Bartsch in 1624.
Notable Objects
There are many deep sky objects in Camelopardalis. One of the best galaxies for small telescopes is 8th magnitude NGC 2403. This large, face-on galaxy has some similarity to M 33, and lies at a distance of about 8 million light-years. Other galaxies in Camelopardalis are of 10th magnitude or fainter.
IC 342 is another face-on spiral galaxy in Camelopadalis, of magnitude 9.1 and an exceptionally large diameter of 20'. IC 342 is only 7 million light years distant, and is one of the dominating members of the IC 342/Maffei 1 Group. IC 342 lies at a low galactic latitude, and is heavily obscured by the interstellar matter of the Milky Way.