Vulpecula, the Fox

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Vulpeculae

Sky Chart and Artist Rendering of Vulpecula

Origin:
Vulpecula, the Fox, was assigned to the sky by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius to his star chart Prodromus Astronomiae in 1690. The constellation was originally named Vulpecula cum Anser, the Fox and Goose. It's not clear what happened to the goose in more modern maps but in Hevelius' star chart the fox was indeed carrying a goose in its mouth.

Information:
Vulpecula is, at best, a difficult constellation to find being only a faint zig-zag of stars immersed in the glow of the Milky Way. Perhaps the easiest way to find the elusive Fox is to first find Sagitta (the Arrow), between Albireo (Cygnus the Swan) and Altair (Aquila the Eagle), and Delphinus the Dolphin. A dim zig-zag of stars between Cygnus and an imaginary line connecting the arrow and the head of the Dolphin describes the Fox. Vulpecula transits around 9 pm on September 19.

Being in the Milky Way, Vulpecula is an excellent constellation to explore with binoculars or telescope. Starting with an amusing asterism officially labeled Brocchi's Cluster (formerly Colinder 399) is also known as the "Coathanger" by all who view it because of its obvious similarity to a coat hanger. The asterism may appear to be a cluster of stars but Hipparcos satellite data show that the stars in the group are at very different distances so the grouping is purely coincidental. The showpiece object in Vulpecula is the planetary nebula called the Dumbbell Nebula (M27, NGC 6853), the remnant of a dead star.  The Dumbbell is the biggest and brightest nebula visible in the Earth's sky although it presents little detail except in larger (>30-cm) telescopes. Vulpecula also contains a couple pretty open clusters characteristic of most constellations found in the Milky Way.