Camelopardalis, the
Giraffe, was most likely created to fill a vast region of faint stars between
Cassiopeia,
Auriga, and
Ursa Major. There is some debate on who first created the constellation. It's said the Dutchman
Petrus Plancius, who worked for the Dutch East India Company and created very popular world maps in 1592 and 1594, first named the constellation. It was first published in 1624 by
Jacob Bartsch, though, and he said it was to represent the camel that brought Rebecca to
Isaac.
The constellation's name means a "camel leopard", as the giraffe was thought to have the head of a camel and the spots of a leopard, but it could also be because the
Latin word for "camel" resembles the English word for "giraffe". The stars are very dim and no brighter than 4th
magnitude. The constellation is best seen during Febuary, although it appears upside down during the winter.