Cam, Caml (NASA SP-7, 1965) International Astronomical Union abbreviations for Camelopardus. See constellation.
Camelopardalis means Giraffe. It is also sometimes written Camelopardus, although the correct spelling is indeed CAMELOPARDALIS. At least that's the way Pliny the Elder wrote the animal's name in his Natural History.
On old maps the constellation's name is also spelled Camelopardalus or Camelopardus. For a discussion of the correct spelling, see Harvard College Observatory Circular 146 (1908).
It can be found between the official constellations of Cepheus, the king, and Camelopardus, the giraffe. Tarandus vel Rangifer is no longer recognized by astronomers and does not appear on modern star charts.
not a camel, and the origin of its name is unclear. The Greeks, for reference, called the giraffe the "leopard camel" because it had a leopard's spots and the head of a camel. The name is also sometimes spelled Camelopardalus or Camelopardus.
See also: Sky, Constellation, Cassiopeia, Magnitude, Star
 
|