SkyEye

The Lesser Crab

In his 1612 celestial globe, Dutch astronomer and cartographer Petrus Plancius (1552–1622) introduced a number of new constellations, including this one, Cancer Minor, the lesser crab. It lies adjacent to its larger cousin Cancer and is comprised of stars now assigned to Gemini. Its brightest stars are only fifth magnitude and the constellation lasted only a couple of centuries.