Perseus is near several constellations whose names derive from the adventures of the greek hero, known as the perseus group. Jan 01, 2011 the mythology of the night sky is intended primarily for amateur astronomers who would like to know the mythology behind the names of constellations and planets. Perseus books group was an american publishing company founded in 1996 by investor frank pearl. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious. It shows binary star clusters and the open star cluster m34. In greek mythology, perseus was the son of zeus and danae, daughter of acrisius, the king of argos. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the. 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. 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 spans 28 degrees of the zodiac in the signs of taurus and gemini, and contains 12 named fixed stars.
The new international symbols for the constellations. It deals with the 48 constellations identified by the ancient greek astronomer ptolemy, as well as all the planets of our solar system and their moons, which are named after roman gods. It shines reddish and changes its brightness between 2. Perseus he was the son of jupiter and danae, and is best known for his killing of the gorgon medusa. The summer 2010 issue of the earth scientist, available in our online store, includes articles on rivers and snow, classroom planetariums, satellites and oceanography, handson astronomy, and global warming. Ovid has perseus stab the monster to death after a drawnout, bloody battle, while other versions have the hero simply hold up the head of medusa, turning the monster to stone. 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. 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. The boundary of the perseus constellation contains 7 stars that host known exoplanets. In classical greek mythology, perseus beheaded the snakeheaded medusa to save the princess andromeda from a nasty sea monster. Other names for this star are mirphak and alpha persei. Perseus, constellation in the northern sky at about 4 hours right ascension and 40 north in declination. The two open clusters are right beside each other at magnitude 6. Ptolemy described perseus and 47 other constellations in the second century.
The mythology of the constellation guide andromeda, page 1. A couple of interesting deep sky objectscan be seen in perseus. It was first catalogued by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. Perseus was the son of the greek god zeus and the mortal princess danae. Andromeda insisted that their wedding be celebrated. Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle in the northern hemisphere, radiates. Located north of the celestial equator, it is named for andromeda, daughter of cassiopeia, in the greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster cetus. 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 perseus family includes several constellations associated with the perseus myth.
Four chinese constellations are contained in the area of the sky identified with perseus in the west. Perseus is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere that is visible during december. Posted by bruce mcclure and deborah byrd in constellations october 19, 2019. 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. The constellation depicting perseus lies in a prominent part of the milky way, which is. 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. Algol is also a very wellknown star as it was the firstdiscovered eclipsingbinary, and every couple of days it dims to a magnitude of 3. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero perseus.
Wikimedia commons has media related to perseus constellation. Constellation perseus astrology perseus constellation gives an intelligent, strong, bold. The mythology of the night sky meet your next favorite book. Traditionally, the star algol is the most malevolent star of the heavens. Folios from the kitab suwar alkawakib althabita book of the constellations of the fixed stars of alsufi late 15th century iran ink and gold on paper. Inside the bobbing chest danae clutched her child and prayed to zeus for. After the death of frank pearl, perseus was sold to centre lane partners in 2015, a private equity firm.
The sketch of the constellation in his book places algol next to medusas eye. Today, its called perseus the hero or simply perseus per. It was first charted by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Perseus then saved his mother from marrying polydectes by turning the king and his court to stone with the head of medusa. Here are the 48 original constellations introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the almagest, c.
Poisonous snakes in libyan, persus turned atlas into a stone for refusing to show any hospitality the stone became a large mountain, and coral. While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane, and lets. 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 far southern. Cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, and cetus representing the monster sent to devour andromeda. But we have just assumed that it is impossible at once to be and not to be, and by this means we have proved that this is the most certain of all principles. Perseus saw the beautiful maiden in distress, like a true champion he went to. 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. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. The mythology of the night sky is intended primarily for amateur astronomers who would like to know the mythology behind the names of constellations and planets. Luckily, perseus came on the scene just in the nick of time and killed the sea monster and saved the princess.
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. Some, indeed, demand to have the law proved, but this is because they lack education 1. Aristotle, metaphysics, book 4, section 1006a perseus. Ross exton of the live science team shows you how to find the constellation, along with algol the demon star.
Bullinger in his fascinating book the witness of the stars, tells us about the meaning of the constellations of the zodiac, and the stars that comprise them. Perseus is located in the milky way and covers an area of 615 square degrees. It is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding perseus. Perseus book group was founded by frank pearl in 1996 and became a part of the hachette book group in 2016. The threeletter form in parentheses shows the abbreviation and the form in single quotes provides a translation or explanation. Cassiopeia and perseus in northeast on autumn evenings earthsky.
Constellation perseus the constellations on sea and sky. In greek mythology, perseus represents a victorious hero who was the son of danae. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after. After the marriage, andromeda left her country to live with perseus who later became the king of tiryns and mycenae. When you find perseus, look for the constellations cassiopeia, cepheus and andromeda. Its variable brightness is readily seen with the naked eye.
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. Perseus also has a publishing partnership with the type media center called bold type books. In 2006, perseus became the location of the largest supernova on record when a star 100200 times more massive than the sun exploded. The constellation of perseus, the hero son of zeus, is best viewed in winter during the month of december. The origin for this constellation is ancient, ptolemy named her for our western hemisphere over 2000 years ago. It was named publisher of the year in 2007 by publishers weekly magazine for its role in taking on publishers formerly distributed by publishers group west and acquiring avalon publishing group. Unfortunately, her parents had forgotten their promise to perseus. Perseus the breaker, two comets and the head of satan. Myth about andromeda and perseus windows to the universe. It is home to the perseid meteor shower which peaks around august 9 and can produce up to 60100 meteors per hour. The second brightest star is algol with a magnitude of 2. Apus, paradise bird apus is a small constellation in the southern sky. Mar 14, 2018 here are the 48 original constellations introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the almagest, c.
In the 19th century, the constellation was known as perseus et caput medusae perseus and the head of medusa. It spans from near the north celestial pole down to 30 and the spring meridian crosses this family. The constellation was named after the mythical hero perseus. The constellation s brightest star, alpha persei, is a bit brighter. Perseus was first cataloged in the second century by the greek astronomer ptolemy. Radial velocities of earlytype stars in the perseus ob2 association. Pages in category perseus constellation the following 149 pages are in this category, out of 149 total. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. Originally a beautiful maiden, medusa was transformed into a hideous monster by the goddess minerva. While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane.
It was first depicted on a celestial globe by petrus plancius in 1598, and then charted on a star atlas by johann bayer in his 1603 uranometria. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after the. Its best if you use a chart for the proper month, but one that displays the locations for the season is acceptable. Orient yourself to face north, using a compass, and. Its name means no feet in greek, and it represents a birdofparadise, which was once wrongly believed to lack feet. Instructions on using this constellation sky map on the above constellation map click on adjacent contellations to view them. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the free. This unaided eye constellation sky map has the following limits. The perseus family is a group of 9 constellations composed of cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, cetus, auriga, lacerta, and triangulum. 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. 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.
Menzel also included a few neighboring constellations. Perseus books perseus books is a hachette book group company, comprised of the imprints avalon travel, basic books, da capo press, hachette books, publicaffairs, running press, seal press, and westview press. Perseus contains a number of stars brighter than magnitude 4. List three natural phenomena created on perseus return trip from the bloody head of medusa. 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. Perseus grandfather, acrisius, the king of argos, was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle. Bible, where it is referred to in the book of job, thus giving it the name jobs star.
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. Andromeda is represented in the sky as the figure of a woman with her arms outstreched and chained at the wrists. Perseus has been recognized as a constellation for at least 2,000 years. Perseus is one of the larger northern constellations. The goddess athena placed the image of andromeda among the stars as a reward for keeping her parentspromise. Acrisius locked his daughter danae in a dungeon to prevent her bearing a child. The constellation is best known for its annual perseid meteor shower. 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. Jun 01, 2016 andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is also the origin point for the annual perseid meteor shower. What are the names of the ancient constellations in latin. It is also home to the famous variable star algol, beta persei.
There are several versions of how acrisius and perseus came to be in the same place at the same time, but in all of them, acrisius is accidentally killed by a discus thrown. Back to constellations home page chris dolans home page. It can be seen as a misty patch, given good seeing and a very dark background sky, free of light pollution. Other constellations in the perseus group include andromeda, cassiopeia and pegasus. Also known as beta persei, algol is the bestknown star in the constellation. Perseus, named efter the greek meethological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northren sky. Imprints at perseus include avalon travel publishing home to rick steves and the moon guides, basic books, running press, publicaffairs and da capo press. The perseus cluster is one of the most massive gravitybound objects in the solar system and a region of high scientific interest. The brightest star in perseus is a yellowwhite supergiant. Myth has it the perseus was order by king polydectes to slay the evil gorgon key data. 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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