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monoceros (muh-NOS-er-uhs) - n., a mythical creature with one horn, similar to a unicorn; a faint equatorial constellation between Orion, Canis Major, and Canis Minor.
The latter being named either after the former or after the unicorn -- the notes from astronomer Jakob Bartsch, who first recorded the constellation in 1624, are unclear. If you don't recognize it, you're not alone: Alpha Monocerotis is magnitude 3.93, so typically not visible except in the darkest skies. The former is described by Pliny the Elder as having (and I quote Wikipedia) "the body of a horse, the head of a stag (minus the antlers), the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a wild boar," and a single black horn in the middle of the forehead. As for the name, note that monoceros means unicorn -- the difference being that mono- + keras is "one + horn" in Greek, and uni- + cornis is "one + horn" in Latin.
---L.
The latter being named either after the former or after the unicorn -- the notes from astronomer Jakob Bartsch, who first recorded the constellation in 1624, are unclear. If you don't recognize it, you're not alone: Alpha Monocerotis is magnitude 3.93, so typically not visible except in the darkest skies. The former is described by Pliny the Elder as having (and I quote Wikipedia) "the body of a horse, the head of a stag (minus the antlers), the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a wild boar," and a single black horn in the middle of the forehead. As for the name, note that monoceros means unicorn -- the difference being that mono- + keras is "one + horn" in Greek, and uni- + cornis is "one + horn" in Latin.
---L.
