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Sky Chart and Artist Rendering of Cassiopeia
Origin:
One of the 48 constellations described by Ptolemy in the Almagest
(A.D. 140). Cassiopeia is a large, conspicuous, and very old
constellation.
Information:
Cassiopeia is a large autumn constellation which is highest in the sky
around 9 pm at mid-December. Depending upon the observer's bias, it
has been described as appearing as the number "3", a squashed
"M", or a stretched "W". In any case, Cassiopeia
is unarguably among the best known and easiest to find constellations.
The Milky Way runs through Cassiopeia
making it rich in stars, binocular objects and telescopic objects.
The constellation is home to almost 50 open clusters but not a single
globular cluster. Even though it is so close to the galactic plane,
there are still several galaxies visible through the telescope.
There are several nebulous regions, but these are normally reserved as
photographic objects due to their low surface brightnesses.
Mythology:
Queen Cassiopeia and King Cepheus had a daughter, Andromeda,
about whom the queen boasted of her great beauty. Andromeda's
mother offended Poseidon (Neptune in Roman mythology), the god of the seas
(who is, notably, not immortalized by a constellation in the celestial
sphere), by boasting that she and Andromeda were more beautiful than even
the sea nymphs. This so enraged Poseidon (Neptune in Roman
mythology), god of the seas, that he sent a sea monster to kill
Andromeda. As the story unfolds, Perseus
the Hero saves Andromeda and later they are wed. The entire family
and son-in-law are all immortalized in same region of the sky. The
first child of Perseus and Cassiopeia, Peres, is said to be the patriarch
of the Persians. |
