Stars shown for brighter than 6 limiting magnitude, star names labels shown for stars brighter than 4 limiting magnitude, bayerflamsteed code labels shown for stars brighter than 5 limiting magnitude. Originally a beautiful maiden, medusa was transformed into a hideous monster by the goddess minerva. Constellation perseus astrology perseus constellation gives an intelligent, strong, bold. Acrisius locked his daughter danae in a dungeon to prevent her bearing a child. For example, the maiden, infant, centaur and herdsman are all shown in light blue. The sky is not divided up equally between the constellations. 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. This is the list of notable stars in the constellation perseus, sorted by decreasing brightness. Andromeda is a bright constellation, visible all year round in the northern hemisphere circumpolar. He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from the sea monster cetus.
It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy, among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union, it is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding perseus, including. Figure 1 shows all 48 constellations color coded so that the three decans match the colors of the associated zodiac constellation. Perseus constellation perseus, named after the greek mythological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northern sky. 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, experiences, creation, or mythology. It is home to the perseid meteor shower which peaks around august 9 and can produce up to 60100 meteors per hour.
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. 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. The characters in his story are represented by six constellations that occupy a substantial part of the sky. 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. Fixed stars of alsufi late 15th century iran ink and gold on paper. Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Andromedas mother claimed that they were more beautiful than the sea nymphs, the nereids. 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. Perseus, named efter the greek meethological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northren sky. The figure of perseus is thought to hold the head of medusa in his hand the star beta per representing her evil eye.
In greek mythology, andromeda was the daughter of cassiopeia and cepheus, the king of ethiopia. The gorgons were three sisters, only one of whom, medusa, was mortal. 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. It is prominent from dark sites, having 16 stars of fourth magnitude or brighter. Instructions on using this constellation sky map on the above constellation map click on adjacent contellations to view them. The constellation perseus can be seen in late summer and autumn in the northern. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after. Perseus has been recognized as a constellation for at least 2,000 years.
Perseus is near several constellations whose names derive from the adventures of the greek hero, known as the perseus group. In the winter sky of the northern hemisphere, perseus can be seen flanked by taurus, aries, andromeda and cassiopeia. Book of the constellations of the fixed stars depict the constellation perseus. Perseus was the son of the greek god zeus and the mortal princess danae. This printable star map of the perseus constellation is made up of the stars mirphak and algol. 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. Perseus spans 28 degrees of the zodiac in the signs of taurus and gemini, and contains 12 named fixed stars. It is prominent from dark sites, having 16 stars of. Myth about andromeda and perseus windows to the universe.
Poisonous snakes in libyan, persus turned atlas into a stone for refusing to show any hospitality the stone became a large mountain, and coral. The nereids felt insulted by this and complained to the sea god poseidon. Download free version pdf format my safe download promise. Perseus is a northern constellation which appears highest in the evening sky in the months around november. The constellation perseus, the hero, can be seen in late summer and autumn in the northern hemisphere. The constellation was named after the mythical hero perseus. The stars latin name in the 16th century was caput larvae. The little dumbbell and california nebulae are located within the perseus constellation.
And alpheratz, sirrah is the brightest star in this constellation. Perseus looks likes an inverted y and contains two of the most beautiful open clusters which sit side by side. The constellations brightest star, alpha gruis, is also known as alnair and appears as a 1. Per, the hero and rescuer of andromeda from the jaws of cetus, is a large northern constellation, bordering on aries to the north and taurus to the south. Five stars are listed as nebulous and six stars are listed as reddish. The perseus family is a group of 9 constellations composed of cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, cetus, auriga, lacerta, and triangulum.
Other constellations in the perseus group include andromeda, cassiopeia and pegasus. Perseus is the 24th largest in terms of size in the night sky. The constellations grus, pavo, phoenix and tucana are collectively known as the southern birds. When you find perseus, look for the constellations cassiopeia, cepheus and andromeda. In classical greek mythology, perseus beheaded the snakeheaded medusa to save the princess andromeda from a nasty sea monster. Constellation perseus the champion, is a northern constellation sitting above constellation taurus and below constellation cassiopeia, and between constellation andromeda and constellation auriga u.
Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. Adopts the magnitude scale of hipparchus of nicaea c. This makes it the 24th largest constellation in the night sky. However, only two of these are prominent from lightpolluted locations. Alsufis book of the images of the fixed stars and its. The summer 2010 issue of the earth scientist, available in our online store, includes articles on rivers and snow, classroom planetariums, satellites and oceanography, handson astronomy, and global warming. List three natural phenomena created on perseus return trip from the bloody head of medusa. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the. One of the larger constellations of the northern hemisphere. Perseus is a constellation in the northern hemisphere. From east to west this constellation extends from roughly ra4h 50m to ra1h 30m.
The mythology of the constellation guide andromeda, page 1. It represents andromedas head in western mythology, however, the stars traditional arabic names alpheratz and sirrah, from the phrase surrat alfaras sometimes translated. Folios from the kitab suwar alkawakib althabita book of the. Perseus constellation facts, mythology and how to find. The two open clusters are right beside each other at magnitude 6. Wikimedia commons has media related to perseus constellation. A couple of interesting deep sky objectscan be seen in perseus. It is visible at latitudes between 90 degrees and 35 degrees. The constellation depicting perseus lies in a prominent part of the milky way, which is perhaps why aratus termed him duststained. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
In 2006, perseus became the location of the largest supernova on record when a star 100200 times more massive than the sun exploded. The constellations we recognize today were first mapped by the ancient greeks, who arranged the stars into patterns for that purpose. The constellations brightest star, alpha persei, is a bit brighter. 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. In the third century bc eratosthenes compiled a handbook of astral mythology in which the constellations were associated with athena seized the writhing serpent and hurled it into the sky, and fixed it to the. It is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding perseus. Perseus is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere that is visible during december. The constellation is one of the original constellations that was devised by the ancient.
There are plenty of other interesting stars in perseus, too, including gamma persei giant yellow star, gorgonea tertia red giant, zeta persei blue super giant, nash orange giant, and more. Constellation perseus the constellations on sea and sky. Perseus he was the son of jupiter and danae, and is best known for his killing of the gorgon medusa. Perseus gives name to one of the constellation families. The origin for this constellation is ancient, ptolemy named her for our western hemisphere over 2000 years ago. A few drops of medusas blood fell into the sea, mixed with the foam, and gave birth to pegasus, the flying horse, who later played a part in the story of another hero, bellerophon. Star map with constellations of andromeda, perseus, and triangulum created published published 1776. He was, alongside cadmus and bellerophon, the greatest greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of heracles. This unaided eye constellation sky map has the following limits. Andromeda, aries, auriga, camelopardalis, cassiopeia, taurus, triangulum. Perseus is a midsized constellation with a total area of 615 square degrees. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero perseus. It is an a0p class binary star with an overall apparent visual magnitude of 2. Cassiopeia and perseus in northeast on autumn evenings earthsky.
Positioned north of the ecliptic plane, the constellation of perseus was one of the original 48 constellations listed by ptolemy, and. If you have ever wondered why exactly are there such oddly named constellations as perseus and cepheus or why are there several fishes and a seamonster in the sky, then the mythology of the night sky, is the book to turn to. Beta gruis is a red giant variable star with a minimum magnitude of 2. It was first charted by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. 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. The myth of perseus tells how he was sent on a quest to bring back a gorgons head to king polydectes. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero.
Star map with constellations of andromeda, perseus, and. It has around 27 times our suns radius, 16 times its mass, and about 47,000 times its luminosity. 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. The constellation cassiopeia is m or wshaped, ascending in the northeast on northern hemisphere autumn evenings.
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