Cancer Minor



Cancer Minor (Latin for "lesser crab") was a constellation composed from a few stars in Gemini adjacent to Cancer. The constellation was introduced in 1612 (or 1613) by Petrus Plancius.

The 5th-magnitude stars constituting Cancer Minor were HIP 36616, and 68, 74, 81 and 85 Geminorum, forming a faint natural arrow-shaped asterism. It is only found on a few 17th-century Dutch celestial globes and in the atlas of Andreas Cellarius. It was no longer used after the 18th century.