Crown Of The North Wind
Corona Borealis
October 27 - November 10
Corona Borealis, Northern Crown, or the Crown of the North Wind, lies upside down behind the back of the great hero, Hercules. The main star of this small but brilliant constellation is Alphecca, the central jewel in the crown of red, Indian jewels and firery gold which belonged to the Cretan princess, Ariadne. Behind its stars, to which the fortunate were thought to go after death, lie 400 galaxies invisible to the naked eye, a thousand million light years distant. It is best seen in Summer, lying between the Harp Star, Vega, in the Lyra, a constellation to the east of it, and Arturus in Bootes, the Bear Keeper, to the west. The Coronids, the metors of the Crown, stream towards us from its direction from mid-April to the end of June.
