Constellation, Fox
Vulpecula
A little fox, first drawn carrying a goose in its jaws, added by Johannes Hevelius. The goose has since vanished from the name, but its star Anser remains.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Vulpecula rises at 11:53 AM, is highest at 7:31 PM (74° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 3:06 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Vulpecula. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Johannes Hevelius introduced this figure in his catalogue of 1687 as Vulpecula cum Ansere, the little fox with the goose. In his atlas of 1690 he drew a fox with a goose in its jaws. He placed it near two other hunters, the eagle Aquila and the vulture that some saw in Lyra. Hevelius explained that the fox was carrying the goose to Cerberus, another of his figures, for a shared breakfast. Cerberus is now obsolete, and the scene has lost its ending. There is no ancient myth behind the fox.
Others called the pair the Fox and Goose, which is also a traditional name for British pubs. Francis Baily shortened the name to Vulpecula in 1845, and the goose dropped out. In 2017 the IAU named the brightest star, on the fox’s nose, Anser, Latin for goose. On the border with Sagitta lies a small star group called Brocchi’s Cluster or the Coathanger. The Persian astronomer al-Sufi described it as early as AD 964.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Vulpecula
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anser | α Vul | 4.44 | 297 light-years |
| 23 Vul | 23 Vul | 4.50 | 339 light-years |
| 31 Vul | 31 Vul | 4.56 | 189 light-years |
| 13 Vul | 13 Vul | 4.57 | 335 light-years |
| 15 Vul | 15 Vul | 4.66 | 236 light-years |
| 1 Vul | 1 Vul | 4.76 | 811 light-years |
| HIP 99824 | HIP 99824 | 4.79 | 991 light-years |
| 29 Vul | 29 Vul | 4.81 | 233 light-years |
| 12 Vul | 12 Vul | 4.90 | 630 light-years |
| 30 Vul | 30 Vul | 4.92 | 325 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 270 square degrees (54 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Vul |
| Sky | Northern sky |
| Origin | Introduced as Vulpecula cum Ansere in Hevelius’s star catalogue of 1687 and drawn in his atlas published in 1690 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 11 |
| Centre (J2000) | 20.1 h, 24° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC6940 | Open cluster | 6.3 |
| NGC6823 | Cluster with nebula | 7.1 |
| M27 · Dumbbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | 7.4 |
| NGC6830 | Open cluster | 7.9 |
| NGC6802 | Open cluster | 8.8 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.