Musca Borealis

Musca Borealis (Latin for northern fly) was a constellation located between the constellations of Aries and Perseus. It was first described as such by Hevelius in his catalogue of 1690, to distinguish it from the southern fly, Musca Australis.

However, the original name of this constellation was Apis (the Bee, also the original name of Musca Australis) in Plancius' celestial globe of 1612, while Bartsch named it Vespa (the Wasp) in 1624.

In 1679 Augustin Royer used these stars for his constellation Lilium (the Lily, representing the fleur-de-lis and in honour of his patron, king Louis XIV).

This constellation is no longer in use; the stars it contained are now included in Aries. The Southern Fly, Musca Australis, is now simply known as Musca.

External links

• Obsolete Constellations at MSU
• Ridpath's Star Tales