Why is the constellation called cancer?

Cancer is best known among stargazers as the home of Praesepe (Messier 44), an open cluster also called the Beehive Cluster, located right in the centre of the constellation. Located about 590 light-years from Earth, it is one of the nearest open clusters to our Solar System. read more

Cancer, which is Latin for crab, is the dimmest of the 13 constellations of the Zodiac, having only two stars above the fourth magnitude. The small faint constellation Cancer is rich in open clusters and double stars. read more

Cancer is the faintest of the 12 zodiac constellations. Its symbol is ♋. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. read more