Monoceros

[muh-nos-er-uhs]

noun

Astronomy.

genitive

Monocerotis 

1. the Unicorn, a constellation south of Gemini and east of Orion.

Monoceros

/ məˈnɒsərəs /

noun

1. a faint constellation on the celestial equator crossed by the Milky Way and lying close to Orion and Canis Major

Word History and Origins

Origin of Monoceros¹

C14: via Old French from Latin: unicorn, from Greek monokeros with a single horn, from _mono- + keras horn

Example Sentences

Far far away, in a constellation called Monoceros, 3000 light years away from us, lives an unusual star known as HD 45166 - preparing to become the most magnetic powerhouse to exist in the known Universe.

From Space Scoop

Not to worry, however: This black hole is 1,600 light-years away, in the constellation Ophiuchus; the next nearest known black hole is about 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros.

From New York Times

"We nicknamed this black hole 'the Unicorn' partly because V723 Mon is in the Monoceros constellation - which translates to unicorn - and partly because it is a very unique system" in terms of the black hole's mass and relative closeness to Earth, said Ohio State University astronomy doctoral student Tharindu Jayasinghe, lead author of the study published this week in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

From Reuters

The nebula is located in the Monoceros, or Unicorn, constellation.

From Fox News

The alpha Monocerotids have been dubbed unicorn meteors because they radiate from the constellation Monoceros, the Greek word for unicorn, according to EarthSky.

From Fox News