How to Find and Identify the Constellation Monoceros

Make a trip outdoors only on the darkest of winter nights. In the northern hemisphere, Monoceros is visible in the cold months, with December and January being the best time to see the unicorn of the sky. The later it is at night, the better are your chances of seeing it.

First you must find three other constellations for your chance to see Monoceros. These three are Orion and his two hunting dogs, Canis Major and Minor. This trio contains bright stars that form a triangle in which most of Monoceros can be found.

Observe Orion. It is the most easily distinguished star group in the sky, comprised of many bright stars in the form of a rectangle. Inside this shape are three close stars in a row which form “Orion’s belt.” The upper left corner of Orion, his left “shoulder,” is formed by the brilliant Betelgeuse, one of the corners of the triangle that you will use to locate Monoceros. Note the location of Betelgeuse.

Locate the dogs of Orion. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and lies in Canis Major. It can be seen easily due to its brightness, but if you have to, you can follow Orion’s belt downwards to it to find it. To the north and west of Sirius is Procyon in Canis Minor. It is also very luminous and completes the triangle.

Search inside the triangle for the unicorn. The stars of Monoceros are so dim that it may take you a while, but what will help you is that the stars that shape Monoceros’s head make a small triangle of their own. It is located just beneath a line drawn from Betelgeuse to Procyon, halfway between each. The neck of Monoceros goes down towards the southwest to a star that forms its shoulders. From the shoulders the legs come down to the southeast. The rest of Monoceros lies outside of the triangle, three stars that form his tail and back legs.