Camelopardalis (abbr. Cam, gen. Camelopardalis) The Giraffe; a large, relatively barren constellation near the north celestial pole, lying between Ursa Major and Cassiopeia. Only four of its stars, Beta, 7 Cam, and Alpha, reach fourth magnitude. Alpha is a notably remote and intrinsically luminous O star (visual magnitude 4.26, absolute magnitude -7.38, spectral type O9Ia, distance 6,940 light-years). See below for details of some of the constellation's interesting deep sky objects.
A small planetary, just south of 32 Cam, that looks like a star slightly out of focus. Magnitude 11.6; diameter 18"; distance 9,000 light-years; R.A. 12h 33.11m, Dec. +82° 33.8'
NGC 1502
open cluster
A tiny but striking object containing about 15 stars. The brighter members are in a triangular arrangement while the fainter ones lie in a circular background. Magnitude 5.7; diameter 5.7'; R.A. 04h 7.7m, Dec. +62° 20'
NGC 2403
galaxy
A spiral galaxy readily seen in small telescopes at low power and even visible with a good pair of binoculars as a hazy glow. In larger instruments it appears as a fat cigar-shape. It is an outlying member of the M81 Group. Magnitude 8.4; size 18' × 11'; distance 12 million light-years; R.A. 07h 37', Dec. 65° 36'.