V838 Monocerotis is a cataclysmic binary star in the constellation Monoceros about 19,000 light years from the Sun. The previously unremarked star was observed in early 2002 experiencing a major outburst, and was one of the largest known stars for a short period following the outburst. Originally believed to be a typical nova eruption, it was then identified as the first of a new class of eruptive variables known as luminous red novae. The reason for the outburst is still uncertain, but is thought to have been a merger of two stars within a triple system.
NGC 2346 is a planetary nebula near the celestial equator in the constellation of Monoceros, less than a degree to the ESE of Delta Monocerotis. It is informally known as the Butterfly Nebula. The nebula is bright and conspicuous with a visual magnitude of 9.6, and has been extensively studied. Among its most remarkable characteristics is its unusually cool central star, which is a spectroscopic binary, and its unusual shape.
Delta Pavonis, Latinized from δ Pavonis, is a single star in the southern constellation of Pavo. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.56, making it a fourth-magnitude star that is visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere. Parallax measurements yield an estimated distance of 19.89 light-years from Earth. This makes it one of the nearest bright stars to the Solar System. It is approaching the Sun with a radial velocity of −23.5 km/s, and is predicted to come as close as 17.8 light-years in around 49,200 years.
R Monocerotis, abbreviated R Mon, is a very young binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros. The apparent magnitude of R Mon varies between 10 and 12 and the spectral type is B8IIIe.
BT Monocerotis was a nova, which lit up in the constellation Monoceros in 1939. It was discovered on a spectral plate by Fred L. Whipple on December 23, 1939. BT Monocerotis is believed to have reached mag 4.5, which would have made it visible to the naked eye, but that value is an extrapolation; the nova was not observed at peak brightness Its brightness decreased after the outbreak by 3 magnitudes in 182 days, making it a "slow nova". The light curve for the eruption had a long plateau period.
Lambda Andromedae, Latinized from λ Andromedae, is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the northern constellation of Andromeda. At an estimated distance of approximately 84.6 light-years from Earth, it has an apparent visual magnitude of +3.8. This is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. The system is drifting further away from the Sun with a radial velocity of +6.8 km/s.
The Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit is an upper bound to the mass of cold, non-rotating neutron stars, analogous to the Chandrasekhar limit for white dwarf stars. Stars more massive than the TOV limit collapse into a black hole. The original calculation in 1939, which neglected complications such as nuclear forces between neutrons, placed this limit at approximately 0.7 solar masses (M☉). Later, more refined analyses have resulted in larger values.
Lambda Geminorum, Latinized from λ Geminorum, is a candidate multiple star system in the constellation Gemini. It is visible to the naked eye at night with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 3.57. The distance to this system is 101 light years based on parallax, and it is drifting closer with a radial velocity of –7.4 km/s. It is a member of what is suspected to be a trailing tidal tail of the Hyades Stream.
S Monocerotis, also known as 15 Monocerotis, is a massive multiple and variable star system located in the constellation Monoceros. It is the brightest star in the Christmas Tree open cluster in the area catalogued as NGC 2264.
A0620-00 is a binary star system in the constellation of Monoceros, with an apparent magnitude of 11.2.
WR 148 is a spectroscopic binary in the constellation Cygnus. The primary star is a Wolf–Rayet star and one of the most luminous stars known. The secondary has been suspected of being a stellar-mass black hole but may be a class O main sequence star.
18 Monocerotis is a binary star system located about halfway from Orion's Belt to Procyon, in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, orange-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.47, and is positioned around 370 light years away from the Sun based on parallax. The system is receding from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of +11 km/s.
3 Monocerotis is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros, located approximately 780 light years away from the Sun based on parallax. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, blue-white hued star with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.92. The system is moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of +39 km/s.
Chi2 Hydrae, Latinised from χ2 Hydrae, is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 4.6 mas as seen from Earth, it is located roughly 685 light years from the Sun. It is visible to the naked eye with a combined apparent visual magnitude of about 5.7.
U Monocerotis is a pulsating variable star and spectroscopic binary in the constellation Monoceros. The primary star is an RV Tauri variable, a cool luminous post-AGB star evolving into a white dwarf.
GI Monocerotis, also known as Nova Monocerotis 1918, was a nova that erupted in the constellation Monoceros during 1918. It was discovered by Max Wolf on a photographic plate taken at the Heidelberg Observatory on 4 February 1918. At the time of its discovery, it had a photographic magnitude of 8.5, and had already passed its peak brightness. A search of plates taken at the Harvard College Observatory showed that it had a photographic magnitude of 5.4 on 1 January 1918, so it would have been visible to the naked eye around that time. By March 1918 it had dropped to ninth or tenth magnitude. By November 1920 it was a little fainter than 15th magnitude.
Gaia BH1 is a binary system consisting of a G-type main-sequence star and a likely stellar-mass black hole, located about 1,560 light-years (478 pc) away from the Solar System in the constellation of Ophiuchus. As of May 2024, it is the nearest known system that astronomers are reasonably confident contains a black hole, followed by Gaia BH3, Gaia BH2 and A0620-00.
MWC 560 is a symbiotic binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros. The identifier comes from the Mount Wilson Calatogue of class O, B and A stars with bright hydrogen lines, published in 1933 by P. W. Merrill and associates. It has the variable star designation V694 Monoceros. This system has a typical apparent visual magnitude of 9.70, which is too dim to be visible to the naked eye. Based on parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 7,700 light years from the Sun.
