VULPECULA

The Little Fox

Vulpecula - Alexander Jamieson - 1822

The constellation Vulpecula was first introduced by the famous Polish astronomer, Johannes Helvelius, in 1690. Its original name was “Vulpecula cum Ansere” (fox with goose), and depicted a fox with a goose in its mouth. In modern astronomy the goose has mysteriously vanished, leaving just the fox. However, the name "Fox and Goose" had such a nice ring to it, it has become a traditional pub name in Britain.

M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula

Although Vulpecula is a small, dim constellation, with no particular mythology and no named stars, it does have one major claim to fame: M27, the dumbbell nebula. This cloud of gas thrown off by a dying star is considered the most conspicuous planetary nebula in the sky, easily accessible in a backyard telescope and even visible in a good set of binoculars. The star at the center of the nebula that created this extraordinary cloud has a faint magnitude of 13.5. The nebula itself shines at magnitude 8, and is 900 light years away. It is truly immense, stretching over 2.5 light years across, which is over 4,000 times greater than the distance from the Sun to Pluto. And it is growing ever larger, expanding at the incredible rate of 17 miles per second. M27 is truly a wondrous sight.

Exoplanets

To date three planets have been discovered in the constellation of Vulpecula. They are all gas giants larger than Jupiter, and their parent stars too dim to see with the naked eye.

Alphabetical Links to the Constellations

ANDROMEDA AQUARIUS AQUILA ARIES AURIGA BOOTES CAMELOPARDALIS CANCER CANES VENATICI CANIS MAJOR CANIS MINOR CAPRICORNUS CARINA CASSIOPEIA CENTAURUS CEPHEUS CETUS COLUMBA COMA BERENICES CORONA AUSTRALIS CORONA BOREALIS CORVUS CRATER CRUX CYGNUS DELPHINUS DORADO DRACO EQUULEUS ERIDANUS FORNAX GEMINI HERCULES HYDRA LACERTA LEO LEO MINOR LEPUS LIBRA LUPUS LYNX LYRA MONOCEROS OPHIUCHUS ORION PEGASUS PERSEUS PISCES PISCIS AUSTRALIS PUPPIS SAGITTA SAGITTARIUS SCORPIUS SCULPTOR SCUTUM SERPENS SEXTANS TAURUS TUCANA URSA MAJOR URSA MINOR VIRGO VULPECULA