Illustration of the constellation of Cancer. Cancer is the fourth sign of the Zodiac. The constellation is shown as a lobster or crayfish. The Sun is in Cancer between 22 June and 22 July. It is a small constellation, with no bright stars. The celebrated star cluster Praesepe, or the beehive, is at the animals heart, at the very centre of its body. The path of the Sun through the sky, the ecliptic, is shown by the black and red line at centre. Illustration is based on a sky map by the Polish-German astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1611- 1687), published posthumously in 1690.