The origin for this constellation is ancient, ptolemy named her for our western hemisphere over 2000 years ago. Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle in the northern hemisphere, radiates. Bible, where it is referred to in the book of job, thus giving it the name jobs star. Perseus constellation photographed on october 2007 near freiberg germany. He has a sort of triangular body, with two legs and feet that look like they are curling up towards the head. The brightest star in the constellation is mirfak, alpha persei, with an apparent magnitude of 1. This was a rather complex task, as anyone who saw her hideous face would be turned immediately to stonethe gorgons, according to bulfinch, were monstrous females with huge teeth like those of swine, brazen claws, and snaky hair bulfinchs. All the constellations associated with this mythological story can be found surrounding andromeda in the northern hemisphere sky. Perseus is near several constellations whose names derive from the adventures of the greek hero, known as the perseus group.
The scene is too zoomed in to see an entire constellation. The tale of his miraculous conception in a shower of gold was told by bunch of the heavy hitters in ancient poetry scene. The constellations andromeda and perseus, along with pegasus, casseopiea and cepheus, are richly intertwined in mythology, but are vastly divergent in the objects they present to amateur astronomers. The story of the birth of perseus doesnt fit perfectly into the heros journey structure, but were giving it a shot. If anyone looked at medusas face they would turn to stone. Where in the northern hemisphere sky is the constellation. Originally a beautiful maiden, medusa was transformed into a hideous monster by the goddess minerva. The neighboring constellations are andromeda, aries, auriga, camelopardalis, cassiopeia. Aug 12, 2009 if you take the left hand v in the w and extend it down and to the left, you will encounter the constellation perseus. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious. Folios from the kitab suwar alkawakib althabita book of the constellations of. Take an illuminating ride across the night sky and meet 10 constellations named after mythological figures.
Myth about andromeda and perseus windows to the universe. Jun 01, 2016 andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Pages in category perseus constellation the following 148 pages are in this category, out of 148 total. The second story, which is the older of the two, referred to auriga as a. Menzel also included a few neighboring constellations. Acrisius locked his daughter danae in a dungeon to prevent her bearing a child. This is the list of notable stars in the constellation perseus, sorted by decreasing brightness. Perseus then saved his mother from marrying polydectes by turning the king and his court to stone with the head of medusa. Heres everything you need to know about the perseus constellation and. The mythology of the constellation guide andromeda, page 1. The perseus story involves six ptolemaic constellations.
Constellation perseus astrology perseus constellation gives an intelligent, strong, bold. Beta persei algol is a notable ea type eclipsing binary, changing from 2. More perseus information back to constellations home page. Hes actually thought to be the oldest of all the greek heroes. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero. The nereids felt insulted by this and complained to the sea god poseidon. It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy, 1 and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union iau. The second brightest star is algol with a magnitude of 2. The constellation of perseus, in a scientific textbook. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. Andromeda is represented in the sky as the figure of a woman with her arms outstreched and chained at the wrists. Perseus saw the beautiful maiden in distress, like a true champion he went to her aid.
Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after the. A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of stars forms an imaginary outline or pattern, typically representing an animal, mythological person or creature, a god, or an inanimate object. How were the constellations named and who named them. No, they are two star clusters on the border of perseus and cassiopeia. Media in category perseus constellation the following 81 files are in this category, out of 81 total. Perseus is a constellation in the northern hemisphere. If you take the left hand v in the w and extend it down and to the left, you will encounter the constellation perseus. Constellation perseus the constellations on sea and sky. It is prominent from dark sites, having 16 stars of fourth magnitude or brighter.
Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of metamorphoses and what it means. This one contains a fragment of an early 12thcentury english scientific textbook from peterborough and an 11thcentury pontifical manual of services conducted by a bishop, part of which was probably made in france but to which additions were made at sherborne abbey in dorset. It is a red giant 200 lightyears distant from the earth. The origins of the earliest constellations likely go back to prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, or mythology.
Perseus was a greek hero most famous for his slaying of medusa. The story of perseus take a look at the story of how perseus slew medusa, the mother of pegasus, and rescued andromeda, the daughter of cepheus and cassiopeia, from the sea monster cetus. Forty eight of the constellations we know were recorded in the seventh and eighth books of. Virgil, aeneid book 2 theoi classical texts library. Other constellations in the perseus group include andromeda, cassiopeia and pegasus. The goddess athena placed the image of andromeda among the stars as a reward for keeping her parentspromise. End page maps of the northern and southern skies point out the stars arrangements. They have nothing to do with the big dipper at all. A couple of interesting deep sky objectscan be seen in perseus.
And as most stories of this nature go, andromeda and perseus lived happily ever after. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero perseus. How to read the night sky a new and easy way to know the stars, planets, and constellations kals, w. After the marriage, andromeda left her country to live with perseus who later became the king of tiryns and mycenae. The boundary of the perseus constellation contains 7 stars that host known exoplanets. Perseus constellation perseus, named after the greek mythological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northern sky.
The story of perseus is by far one of the most famous in greek mythology. As the gross old saying goes, theres more than one way to skin a cat. Perseus is a northern constellation which appears highest in the evening sky in the months around november. It is an a0p class binary star with an overall apparent visual magnitude of 2. Most of our current constellations we can attribute to roman, greek, and babylonian mythology. Take a look at the story of how perseus slew medusa, the mother of pegasus, and rescued andromeda, the daughter of cepheus and cassiopeia, from the sea monster cetus. He is a great white bull of the variety of wild ox which has two long forwardpointing golden horns. Perseus has been recognized as a constellation for at least 2,000 years. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of stars forms an imaginary outline or pattern, typically representing an animal, mythological person or creature, or an inanimate object the origins of the earliest constellations likely go back to prehistory. About halfway, you can easily find this asterism if you use binoculars. The constellation was named after the mythical hero perseus. Astrophotography by kirk rogers writings the story of.
How to read the night sky a new and easy way to know the stars, planets, and constellations. Except for cetus, these constellations all lie north of the. The constellation depicting perseus lies in a prominent part of the milky way, which is perhaps why aratus termed him duststained. Cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, and cetus representing the monster sent to devour andromeda. The constellations grus, pavo, phoenix and tucana are collectively known as the southern birds. The double cluster, comprising two open clusters quite near each other in the sky, was. Even small telescopes can easily divide its two components of mags. The perseus family is a group of 9 constellations composed of cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, cetus, auriga, lacerta, and triangulum. While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane, and lets. There are two meteor showers associated with the constellation. How to read the night sky a new and easy way to know the. On his way home, perseus came across the monster, cetus, getting ready to eat andromeda.
Perseus is the 24th largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 615 square degrees. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious youtube. Locate the third star forming the w shape in cassiopeia, starting from the part of. Globe at night is a program of the national optical astronomy observatory, the national center for groundbased nighttime astronomy in the united states, operated by the association of universities for research in astronomy aura, under cooperative agreement with the national science foundation.
Perseus also contains several notable deep sky objects. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Perseus grandfather, acrisius, the king of argos, was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs. Almach, gamma andromedae, is a beautiful double star. Theseus, heracles, and odysseus were all trying to step to the awesomeness that was the pdog as his friends called him. Its name derives from the arabic word mizar the girdle, referring to the stars position at andromedas left hip. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy,1 and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union iau. He plucked it from the bag for the sea monster to see and cetus immediately turned to stone. Perseus, the hero, can be found in the sky during the winter in the northern hemisphere. Perseus was the son of the greek god zeus and the mortal princess danae. While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane. The 16thcentury english bibliophile, robert cotton, sometimes bound together unrelated manuscripts.
It was first charted by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. Perseus he was the son of jupiter and danae, and is best known for his killing of the gorgon medusa. It rises in the eastern sky just as the sun sets and reaches its peak in the south shortly after 1 a. The constellation s brightest star, alpha gruis, is also known as alnair and appears as a 1. It spans from near the north celestial pole down to 30 and the spring meridian crosses this family. Perseus is one of the oldest constellations, having been cataloged by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the second century, and it has more than one attraction for stargazers. All the constellations associated with this mythological story can be found surrounding. Unfortunately, her parents had forgotten their promise to perseus.
The myth of perseus tells how he was sent on a quest to bring back a gorgons head to king polydectes. Algol beta persei, the second brightest star in perseus, appears red in the night sky, but is actually a triple star system composed of two blue and one orangered stars. This view can be observed from the uk, but there are no constellations visible in this poster. However, only two of these are prominent from lightpolluted locations. The galactic equator is crossing our field of view, whereas in these fields pointing so far away from the galactic center, the star fields are not very dense. These two constellations appear to rotate around polaris as the year progresses. The double cluster, consisting of the open clusters ngc 884 and ngc 869, can be seen by the naked eye. The characters in his story are represented by six constellations that occupy a substantial part of the sky. Since the cluster is pretty small compared to the constellations, this picture shows only the cluster and the region immediately surrounding it. His mother had been locked up in a tower with bronze doors by her father acrisius, king of argos, because had been terrified by. The gorgons were three sisters, only one of whom, medusa, was mortal. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after. National optical astronomy observatory, the national. The way we figure it, danae is the main character of this story, since shes the one doing all the birthing, so well look at from her perspective.
In greek mythology, andromeda was the daughter of cassiopeia and cepheus, the king of ethiopia. The constellation of perseus, the hero son of zeus, is best viewed in winter during the month of december. Positioned north of the ecliptic plane, the constellation of perseus was. With the help of hermes wings and athenas shield, perseus killed medusa without looking at her. Located north of the celestial equator, it is named for andromeda, daughter of cassiopeia, in the greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster cetus. Over half of the 88 constellations the iau recognizes today are attributed to. Engage your students during remote learning with video readalouds. Ross exton of the live science team shows you how to find the constellation, along with algol the demon star. Andromeda insisted that their wedding be celebrated.
Each constellation in the book is illustrated in two versions as shown. Perseus spans 28 degrees of the zodiac in the signs of taurus and gemini, and contains 12 named fixed stars. It represents andromedas head in western mythology, however, the stars traditional arabic names alpheratz and sirrah, from the phrase surrat alfaras sometimes translated. The perseus family includes several constellations associated with the perseus myth. A riot of color, shiny foil stars, and vivid word stories introduce orion, hercules, lyra, and others. Perseus had many types of variable stars, many of which are too small to notice. And alpheratz, sirrah is the brightest star in this constellation.
Perseus contains a number of stars brighter than magnitude 4. Ovid has perseus stab the monster to death after a drawnout, bloody battle, while other versions have the hero simply hold up the head of medusa, turning the monster to stone. Also, the clusters do not form constellations from our point of view. M110 is located one degree north west of m31 and m32 can be found half a degree south of m31. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make.
Constellation perseus the champion, is a northern constellation sitting above constellation taurus and below constellation cassiopeia, and between constellation andromeda and constellation auriga u. In the western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from ptolemys list in the almagest which in turn has roots that go back to mesopotamian astronomy, and most of the far southern. With a little imagination, you can see the image of a man in the stars. It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy, and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union iau. It is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding perseus. Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations.
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