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Sky Chart and Artist Rendering for Andromeda
Origin:
One of the 48 constellations described by Ptolemy in the Almagest
(A.D. 140). Undoubtedly, the star pattern was recognized at least
1000 years prior to Ptolemy.
Information:
Andromeda is located on a north-south line between Cassiopeia and Pisces, seen lying on her side with her head at
the upper- left corner of the Square of Pegasus
and her feet near Perseus. Andromeda is nearly overhead in mid-November (northern
latitudes) at 9 pm.
The constellation is home to the striking spiral
galaxy known as The Great Galaxy in Andromeda (M31, NGC 224).
Visible as a fuzzy elongated patch of light 2.9 million light years
away, the Great Galaxy is the most distant naked-eye object visible from
Earth. Observed with binoculars or through a small telescope at
low power, M31 is a fascinating object.
Mythology:
Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus and
Queen Cassiopeia. 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 the
sea nymphs. In an effort to pacify King Poseidon, King Cepheus
chained Andromeda to a rock by the seashore to await her death by Cetus, the Whale (some believe Cetus is too docile
a creature to be the villain). On his way home after slaying the
Gorgon Medusa, our hero Perseus rescued
Andromeda just in the nick of time and later marries her. |
