- Star Tales - Monoceros (ianridpath.com)
The mythical single-horned beast, the unicorn, is represented by this constellation which was unknown to the ancient Greeks. Monoceros was introduced in 1612 under the name Monoceros Unicornis on a globe by the Dutch theologian and cartographer Petrus Plancius. This was the same globe on which Camelopardalis, another of his inventions, first appeared.
- Little Dumbbell Nebula (Wikipedia)
The Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, NGC 650/651, the Barbell Nebula, or the Cork Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Perseus. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included in Charles Messier’s catalog of comet-like objects as number 76. It was first classified as a planetary nebula in 1918 by the astronomer Heber Doust Curtis. However, others might have previously recognized it as a planetary nebula; for example, William Huggins found its spectrum indicated it was a nebula (instead of a galaxy or a star cluster); and Isaac Roberts in 1891 suggested that M76 might be similar to the Ring Nebula (M57), as seen instead from the side view.
