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Sky Chart and Artist Rendering of Cetus
Origin:
One of the 48 constellations described by Ptolemy in the Almagest
(A.D. 140). It may represent the sea monster sent to kill
Andromeda. In a more modern legend, it represents the great fish
that swallowed Jonah of the Old Testament.
Information:
Cetus is an enormous constellation covering over 1200 square degrees of
sky. It is a Fall constellation which lies in a star-poor region of
the sky, making the constellation just that much easier to find.
Cetus lies east of Aquarius and west of Taurus the Bull. The easiest part of Cetus to
locate is the "circlet" - a pentagon of stars the brightest of
which is Mira ("the Wonderful"). Mira is the best- known
and most studied long-period variable red giant star with a period of 331
days. Every cycle of Mira has been recorded since 1638.
Cetus is high in the sky at 9 pm late
in November.
Mythology:
Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia's mother offended Poseidon, the god of the seas (who is,
notably, not immortalized 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 Tiamat the sea monster (which some believe
is Cetus, the whale). She was rescued just in the nick of time by Perseus, the Hero.
Many believe that Cetus, a whale, is
too docile to represent the sea monster sent to kill Andromeda. In
spite of the confusion, Cetus belongs to a group of other water related
constellations: Capricornus the Sea Goat,
Pisces the fishes, Eridanus
the River, and Delphinus the Dolphin, and Aquarius the Water Bearer. |
