In his hand he holds the head of medusa, which is represented by the star algol. The farnese atlas is a roman statue depicting the titan atlas holding up a celestial globe that displays an accurate representation of the ancient greek. Perseus also contains several notable deep sky objects. The shapes you see all depend on your point of view.
The boundary of the perseus constellation contains 7 stars that host known exoplanets. Perseus is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere that is visible during december. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the. List three natural phenomena created on perseus return trip from the bloody head of medusa. Fixed stars of alsufi late 15th century iran ink and gold on paper. Perseus was the son of the greek god zeus and the mortal princess danae. A couple of interesting deep sky objectscan be seen in perseus. The constellation perseus, the hero, can be seen in late summer and autumn in the northern hemisphere.
Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero. 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. With the help of hermes wings and athenas shield, perseus killed medusa without looking at her. The constellation really is important in mythology but there is no scientific thing special about it. It spans from near the north celestial pole down to 30 and the spring meridian crosses this family. Here are the 48 original constellations introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the almagest, c. Perseus 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 perseus family includes several constellations associated with the perseus myth. Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the free. There are six known planetary systems in the constellation perseus. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious. It is notable for having an extremely heavy supermassive black hole at its centre, one of the largest black holes ever found. Wikimedia commons has media related to perseus constellation.
The two open clusters are right beside each other at magnitude 6. Its variable brightness is readily seen with the naked eye. 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. Like menkib, the system is very far away at a distance of 1,125 light years, and shines with a combined magnitude of 3. 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. Su persei, the brightest of the three, has an apparent. Constellation perseus the champion, is a northern constellation sitting above constellation taurus and below constellation cassiopeia, and between constellation andromeda and constellation auriga u. The constellation is fairly faint and difficult to see in lightpolluted areas. Perseus, constellation in the northern sky at about 4 hours right ascension and 40 north in declination.
The threeletter form in parentheses shows the abbreviation and the form in single quotes provides a translation or explanation. Mar 14, 2018 here are the 48 original constellations introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the almagest, c. 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. The mythology of the constellation guide andromeda, page 1. 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. The neighboring constellations are andromeda, aries, auriga, camelopardalis, cassiopeia. See more ideas about constellations, astronomy and stargazing. 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. Menzel also included a few neighboring constellations. Perseus is the 24th largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 615 square degrees.
Perseus is also bordered by aries and taurus to the south, auriga to the east, camelopardalis to the north, and triangulum to the west. 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. 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 constellation is named for the greek mythological hero and demigod perseus, known for slaying the gorgon medusa. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. Perseus is one of the oldest constellations, having been cataloged by the greek. This unaided eye constellation sky map has the following limits. Also known as beta persei, algol is the bestknown star in the constellation. 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. Up till now, i didnt realize just how well constructed was this heavenly love story, written in the night sky. Perseus gives name to one of the constellation families. Schaefer, louisiana state university, baton roug e. It shows binary star clusters and the open star cluster m34.
Drama in the heavens the legends of the constellations. If anyone looked at medusas face they would turn to stone. In the 19th century, the constellation was known as perseus et caput medusae perseus and the head of medusa. Except for cetus, these constellations all lie north of the. Book of the constellations of the fixed stars depict the constellation perseus.
How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious youtube. Perseus he was the son of jupiter and danae, and is best known for his killing of the gorgon medusa. Instructions on using this constellation sky map on the above constellation map click on adjacent contellations to view them. 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. This part 3 is perhaps the most amazing part of all, in this personal story of these heavenly constellations. The perseus family is a group of 9 constellations composed of cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, cetus, auriga, lacerta, and triangulum. The gorgons were three sisters, only one of whom, medusa, was mortal. Perseus constellation perseus, named after the greek mythological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northern sky. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero perseus. While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from. Perseus book group was founded by frank pearl in 1996 and became a part of the hachette book group in 2016. The little dumbbell and california nebulae are located within the perseus constellation. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme.
Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle in the northern hemisphere, radiates. On his way home, perseus came across the monster, cetus, getting ready to eat andromeda. Many societies saw patterns among the stars with gods and goddesses or stories from their culture. Ross exton of the live science team shows you how to find the constellation, along with algol the demon star. Perseus then freed the beautiful andromeda and, claiming her as his bride, took her home with him as his queen to rule. Perseus was a greek hero most famous for his slaying of medusa. The constellation of perseus, the hero son of zeus, is best viewed in winter during the month of december.
Constellation perseus astrology perseus constellation gives an intelligent, strong, bold. Ptolemy described perseus and 47 other constellations in the second century. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after. 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. The closest thing i can say to that is that one of the brightest supernovae occured in perseus. Eugene delporte originally listed the 88 modern constellations on behalf of the iau commission 3 astronomical notations, in delimitation scientifique des. 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. Perseus has been recognized as a constellation for at least 2,000 years.
He eventually wrote a book the reason he gets all the credit called almagest, which. It is visible at latitudes between 90 degrees and 35 degrees. Most of the constellations with which we are familiar come from ancient. In 2006, perseus became the location of the largest supernova on record when a star 100200 times more massive than the sun exploded. Cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, and cetus representing the monster sent to devour andromeda. While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane. From east to west this constellation extends from roughly ra4h 50m to ra1h 30m. What are the names of the ancient constellations in latin. The brightest star in perseus is a yellowwhite supergiant.
Other constellations in the perseus group include andromeda, cassiopeia and pegasus. All the stars are beyond naked eye visibility, and all the planets are gas giants unlikely to harbour life. Ngc 1277 is a lenticular galaxy located in perseus constellation. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. Perseus, named efter the greek meethological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northren sky. Constellations are formed of bright stars which appear close to each other on the sky, but are really far apart in space. Back to constellations home page chris dolans home page. Perseus was the son of zeus and danae, the daughter of acrisius of argos. Constellation perseus the constellations on sea and sky. It lies at a distance of about 220 million light years from earth. The origin for this constellation is ancient, ptolemy named her for our western hemisphere over 2000 years ago.
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. Learn more about the traditional story of perseus in this article. Perseus grandfather, acrisius, the king of argos, was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. The constellation is circumpolar, so it is visible throughout the year, but best in winter and spring. One of the larger constellations of the northern hemisphere. Luckily, perseus came on the scene just in the nick of time and killed the sea monster and saved the princess. 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. Originally a beautiful maiden, medusa was transformed into a hideous monster by the goddess minerva. Perseus is not to difficult to find if you know where cassiopeia is. It is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding. In the winter sky of the northern hemisphere, perseus can be seen flanked by taurus, aries, andromeda and cassiopeia. Myths about constellations windows to the universe. Medusa was one of the three hideous sisters, who had tusks, hands of brass. Perseus is near several constellations whose names derive from the adventures of the greek hero, known as the perseus group.
Perseus then saved his mother from marrying polydectes by turning the king and his court to stone with the head of medusa. Other names for this star are mirphak and alpha persei. Folios from the kitab suwar alkawakib althabita book of the. Each cluster covers more than 12 degree of sky, with ngc869 being the brighter and richer of the pair. 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. The threeletter form in parentheses shows the abbreviation and the form in single quotes provides a. The double cluster, consisting of the open clusters ngc 884 and ngc 869, can be seen by the naked eye.
This is the list of notable stars in the constellation perseus, sorted by decreasing brightness. It is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding perseus, including andromeda to the west and cassiopeia to the north. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek philosopher epicurus, with the aim of dispelling fear of. Perseus spans 28 degrees of the zodiac in the signs of taurus and gemini, and contains 12 named fixed stars. Today, its called perseus the hero or simply perseus per. It lies between the constellations giraffe, aries, cassiopeia, triangle and charioteer. 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. Constellation perseus astrology perseus constellation. Eta cassiopeiae star above the last letter h of ruchbah is a beautiful double star consisting of yellow and red. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. Perseus is located in the milky way and covers an area of 615 square degrees.
Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after the. In classical greek mythology, perseus beheaded the snakeheaded medusa to save the princess andromeda from a nasty sea monster. More perseus information back to constellations home page. Imprints at perseus include avalon travel publishing home to rick steves and the moon guides, basic books, running press, publicaffairs and da capo press. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. It is home to the perseid meteor shower which peaks around august 9 and can produce up to 60100 meteors per hour. The constellation s brightest star, alpha persei, is a bit brighter. Cassiopeia is circumpolar, and is visible all year round 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.
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