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Cancer

OBSERVER: Ola Karlsson
COMPOSER: Ola Karlsson
DATE: 23 Mars 2014
POSITION: AZ: 180 00 00 ALT: 50 00 00
EXPOSURE TIME: 9x15s, combined
Cancer is one of the zodiac constellations in the north sky. In greek mythology the crab appears in the same story as Hercules, and Hydra. The most convenient time to see Cancer in Sweden is in late winter/early spring. The tropic of Cancer, the northern most line on the Earth where the Sun can be in zenith, is a remnant name because the (northern) summer solstice take place in Taurus since a few decades due to the precession of Earth's spin axis. The stars of cancer is not among the brightest stars but the constellation contains two noticeable open clusters. M44 is prominent almost in the middle of the constellation, while M67 only appear as a faint dot.
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