Su persei, the brightest of the three, has an apparent. As a small side note, it is interesting that cepheus shows up again in greek mythology when he and 17 of his sons were killed by hercules. The mythology of andromeda also sees the constellation referred to as the chained maiden, cepheis, meaning daughter of cepheus, and persea, meaning the wife of perseus. Perseus grandfather, acrisius, the king of argos, was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. Help support the development of the constellation home page. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Medusa was one of the three hideous sisters, who had tusks, hands of brass.
Astronomy, constellations, greek mythology, zodiac, astrolabe, cultural. 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. Murray 1 now when they were marshalled, the several companies with their captains, the trojans came on with clamour and with a cry like birds, even as the clamour of cranes ariseth before the face of heaven, when they flee from wintry storms and measureless rain, and with clamour fly toward the streams of ocean, bearing slaughter and death to pigmy men. It was first charted by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. Perseus is perhaps best known for the perseid meteor shower, one of the best annual meteor showers, whose radiant lies close to. The constellation perseus can be seen in late summer and autumn in the northern hemisphere. It was named after the legendary hero who rescued andromeda from the monster, cetus, by bringing back the head of medusa to turn it into stone. It lies between the constellations giraffe, aries, cassiopeia, triangle and charioteer. The layout of this book does not follow the layout of the originals. Perseus is a northern constellation which appears highest in the evening sky in the months around november. Perseus, the hero, can be found in the sky during the winter in the northern hemisphere. The myth of perseus tells how he was sent on a quest to bring back a gorgons head to king polydectes. The perseus family includes several constellations associated with the perseus myth. 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.
Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle in the northern hemisphere, radiates. Cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, and cetus representing the monster. Perseus is near several constellations whose names derive from the adventures of the greek hero, known as the perseus group. With a little imagination, you can see the image of a man in the stars. Homer, iliad, book 3, line 1 perseus digital library. Perseus has been recognized as a constellation for at least 2,000 years. In neoassyrian babylonia 911605 bc, the constellation of perseus was known as the old man constellation su. Constellation perseus astrology perseus constellation gives an intelligent, strong, bold. Constellation perseus the constellations on sea and sky. Constellations guide in modern astronomy, a constellation is a clearly defined area of the sky. Perseus constellation perseus, named after the greek mythological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northern sky.
Aries is generally considered to be the representation of crius chrysomallus, the golden ram that rescued phrixos and helle from harm at the hands of ino, and started to fly them to colchis. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the free. Perseus, the hero, arcs high overhead in fall and early winter. The constellation home page sponsored by the american association of amateur astronomers. Luckily, perseus came on the scene just in the nick of time and killed the sea monster and saved the princess. All the stars are beyond naked eye visibility, and all the planets are gas giants unlikely to harbour life. In the sky, perseus lies near the constellations andromeda, cepheus, cassiopeia andromedas mother, cetus, and pegasus. In his hand he holds the head of medusa, which is represented by the star algol. In 2006, perseus became the location of the largest supernova on record when a star 100200 times more massive than the sun exploded. In fact, if you look at perseus under dark skies, you may be able to see three of the spiral arms that enfold the milky way. Instructions on using this constellation sky map on the above constellation map click on adjacent contellations to view them. Perseus was the son of the greek god zeus and the mortal princess danae.
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. Andromeda library of constellations peters, stephanie true on. It is visible at latitudes between 90 degrees and 35 degrees. On his feet are winged sandals, given to him as a gift from mercury. Like menkib, the system is very far away at a distance of 1,125 light years, and shines with a combined magnitude of 3. It is prominent from dark sites, having 16 stars of fourth magnitude or brighter. Perseus, constellation in the northern sky at about 4 hours right ascension and 40 north in declination. The heavenly w, the constellation cassiopeia sometimes called the lady of the chair is one of those constellations which can be easily found in the northern sky. Perseus looks likes an inverted y and contains two of the most beautiful open clusters which sit side by side.
It is home to the perseid meteor shower which peaks around august 9 and can produce up to 60100 meteors per hour. 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. A couple of interesting deep sky objectscan be seen in perseus. The boundary of the perseus constellation contains 7 stars that host known exoplanets. Aug 01, 2003 andromeda library of constellations peters, stephanie true on. It is represented by perseus holding a sword above his head in his right hand and the decapitated head of the gorgon medusa in his left. Other constellations in the perseus group include andromeda, cassiopeia and pegasus. Positioned north of the ecliptic plane, the constellation of perseus was. The constellation was named after the mythical hero perseus. In the winter sky of the northern hemisphere, perseus can be seen flanked by taurus, aries, andromeda and cassiopeia. With the help of hermes wings and athenas shield, perseus killed medusa without looking at her.
The ecliptic also passes through the constellation ophiuchus, which doesnt have an associated zodiac sign. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. It is also said that perseus, being thirsty, picked up a mushroom myces, and drinking the water that flowed from it, named the site 3. The neighboring constellations are andromeda, aries, auriga, camelopardalis, cassiopeia. Perseeus the constellation of perseus, the hero son of zeus, is best viewed in winter during the month of december. 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. Historically however, the term was also used to refer to a perceived pattern formed by bright stars with apparent proximity to one another, and this practice is still common today. Perseus promptly fell in love with her, killed the monster, and married the princess. Perseus then freed the beautiful andromeda and, claiming her as his bride, took her home with him as his queen to rule. He has a sort of triangular body, with two legs and feet that look like they are curling up towards the head. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.
Back to constellations home page chris dolans home page. Wikimedia commons has media related to perseus constellation. This unaided eye constellation sky map has the following limits. The constellation cancer, the crab, is not only part of the zodiacal family but as well associated with the hercules family. Many of its stars are immersed in the faint glow of our galaxy, the milky way. Folios from the kitab suwar alkawakib althabita book of the. 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. Dec 16, 2008 positioned north of the ecliptic plane, the constellation of perseus was one of the original 48 constellations listed by ptolemy, and endures as one of the 88 modern constellations. In greek mythology, perseus was the son of zeus and danae, daughter of acrisius, the king of argos. Ross exton of the live science team shows you how to find the constellation, along with algol the demon star. This page was last changed on 17 november 2014, at 05.
On his way home, perseus came across the monster, cetus, getting ready to eat andromeda. Star map with constellations of andromeda, perseus. Perseus flew on until he spotted the beautiful maiden andromeda, who was chained to the rocky shore as a sacrifice to a 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. Perseus was a greek hero most famous for his slaying of medusa. Perseus, named efter the greek meethological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northren sky. Content is available under the creative commons attributionsharealike license. There are six known planetary systems in the constellation perseus. Paris, the trojan prince who precipitated the war by stealing the beautiful helen from her husband, menelaus, challenges the achaeans to single combat with any of their warriors. In order to present a constellation per section, the translator has given each section the format of 1 summary of eratosthenes, 2 extract from hyginus, 3 commentary by translator. The constellations and greek mythology page 2 greek legends.
Aries, the ram, is one of the most famous constellations from antiquity, being as it is, also a sign of the zodiac. Perseus spans 28 degrees of the zodiac in the signs of taurus and gemini, and contains 12 named fixed stars. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero perseus. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after the. If anyone looked at medusas face they would turn to stone. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero. Become a member of the american association of amateur astronomers. Perseus is the 24th largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 615 square degrees. Perseus is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere that is visible during december. Ngc869 and ngc884 make up the famous double cluster, a related pair of star clusters that form one of the richest sights in the sky for small telescopes.
The constellations and greek mythology greek legends and myths. The trojan army marches from the city gates and advances to meet the achaeans. The constellation perseus, the hero, can be seen in late summer and autumn in the northern hemisphere. Perseus perseus in the greek mythology, perseus was the hero who rescued andromeda, the beautiful daughter of cepheus and cassiopeia, from whale, the sea monster. Neighbouring constellations to andromeda include cassiopeia, cepheus, cetus and perseus, all related to the myth of andromeda. The constellation is circumpolar, so it is visible throughout the year, but best in winter and spring. The translation of phaenomena by aratus is given as a section at the back of the book. Perseus is a constellation in the northern hemisphere. Star map with constellations of andromeda, perseus, and.
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