Corona Borealis

Crown of Corona Borealis

Northern Crown

skylore / traditional name · medium confidence

A delicate semicircle between Boötes and Hercules, centred on bright Alphecca. It is a simple naked-eye crown on late-spring evenings and a good bridge toward the summer sky.

Central RA: 15^h 43^m 49.8^s
Central Dec: +28° 02′ 20″
Brightest member: V 2.23
Best months from 50°N: March–June evenings
Suggested instrument: naked-eye
Approx. span: 7.4°

Finder context

Use the nearby bright stars to locate the gold box, then move to the larger chart for the pattern itself.

Framing: Approximate member-star span: 7.4°; use at least 10.3° field for context.

Observing and imaging

Naked eye

Start with the unaided eye. Suburban skies usually show the main stars.

Binoculars

Binoculars are optional: use them to check colours, nearby doubles, or richer Milky Way background.

Small scope

A telescope is usually too narrow for the whole shape; use it after the pattern has guided you to a target.

Imaging

Frame a 10° field around Corona Borealis to include the pattern and its nearby stars.

Tonight from your latitude

Set your location and date to see a useful window, peak altitude, sky visibility, and Moon conditions. Use Month to compare the season ahead.

Latitude 50°NLongitude -114°Date Month Sky darkness Bortle 4 · limit V 6.1

Naked-eye visibility by sky class

Bortle class rates night-sky brightness. The atlas counts a pattern as recognisable when at least 70% of its defining stars are visible.

Bortle 3: 7/7 stars — fully visibleBortle 5: 7/7 stars — fully visibleBortle 7: 5/7 stars — partial

Moon impact

For 50°N in the best month, green dates mark at least two hours with the pattern above 20° and the Moon below the horizon.

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Member stars

Name	Bayer / Flamsteed	HR	RA J2000	Dec J2000	V mag
Alphecca	5Alp CrB	HR 5793	15^h 34^m 41.3^s	+26° 42′ 53″	2.23
3Bet CrB	3Bet CrB	HR 5747	15^h 27^m 49.7^s	+29° 06′ 21″	3.68
8Gam CrB	8Gam CrB	HR 5849	15^h 42^m 44.6^s	+26° 17′ 44″	3.84
4The CrB	4The CrB	HR 5778	15^h 32^m 55.8^s	+31° 21′ 33″	4.14
13Eps CrB	13Eps CrB	HR 5947	15^h 57^m 35.3^s	+26° 52′ 40″	4.15
10Del CrB	10Del CrB	HR 5889	15^h 49^m 35.7^s	+26° 04′ 06″	4.63
14Iot CrB	14Iot CrB	HR 5971	16^h 01^m 26.6^s	+29° 51′ 04″	4.99

Source and confidence

skylore / traditional name; medium confidence. Traditional or folk name recorded in older star-name literature.

Citations

Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.: Hoffleit, D. & Warren, W.H. Jr. (1991). Positions, V magnitudes, Bayer/Flamsteed identifiers. source
Star Names and Their Meanings: Allen, R.H. (1899). Public-domain skylore and traditional names.
The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues: ESA SP-1200 (1997). Used as the modern astrometric reference named by the atlas; the MVP pages expose BSC5 J2000 fields for the plotted bright-star members.