Chances are you’ve never seen Cancer the Crab, the faintest of
the 13 constellations of the Zodiac. If you’ve looked for Cancer
but not found it, then look again in 2012. In March, April and
May 2012, when the red planet Mars shines at its brightest for
this two-year period, Mars happens to shine fairly close to
Cancer and its famous Beehive star cluster. In any year, Cancer
the Crab and the Beehive cluster may be found between the two
brightest stars of Gemini (Castor and Pollux) and Leo’s
brightest star (Regulus). In 2012, though, finding Cancer is
easier than usual, because Mars is in the picture, as shown in
the image at right. So if you haven’t seen Cancer and its famous
Beehive star cluster, try again in 2012. Let’s suppose you have
identified Mars, Regulus, Castor and Pollux – and you look
between them for Cancer and see, well, nothing much. Remember,
Cancer is faint. Our advice is to look for it in a dark country
sky. What’s more, Cancer makes up for its lackluster stars by
having within its boundarie