#constellation andromeda

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Constellation Andromeda

The constellation Andromeda is found in far northern skies, adjoining Perseus and Cassiopeia. It is often called the chained lady, for it was pictured on ancient star maps as a beautiful and tragic figure of a woman, who was bound by chains to rocks on the seashore. How did the fair Andromeda find herself in this predicament? Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia . The queen had offended some beautiful sea nymphs, called the Nereids, by claiming to be more beautiful than they. As retribution for this affront to his charges, the sea god, Poseidon sent a monster, Cetus to wreak havoc along the shores of King Cepheus's kingdom.

In desperation, Cepheus consulted an oracle to find out if there was some way that he could put an end to the destruction the monster was causing. He was told that he had to give the monster a living sacrifice-his daughter-which is how Andromeda came to be chained to the rocks. As the terrified Andromeda waited to be devoured, the hero Perseus happened along and asked who she was and why she was in this pitiful state. At first, improbably shy, Andromeda said nothing, but gradually she told Perseus everything, ending with an ear-splitting scream as she saw Cetus approaching. Perseus, fresh from killing the Gorgon Medusa, still had her head in his hand. He turned the Gorgon's face to Cetus, which promptly turned to stone and sank. As his reward, Perseus claimed Andromeda's hand in marriage and she later bore him six children.

The great spiral 

Andromeda is easy to locate as it is joined to Pegasus, one of the most unmistakable of all constellations owing to its square of four stars. Visually, the individual stars in Andromeda are not particularly noteworthy. The most interesting object by far is a blurry patch, found roughly midway between the  Square of Pegasus and the W-shape of Cassiopeia. This patch resembles a nebula or gas cloud, but in fact it is a distant star island, or galaxy. It is often called the Great Spiral because of its structure, which shows up when viewed through a powerful telescope.

Source: "Tales of the Night Sky" by Robin Kerrod

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Constellation Perseus

Perseus was one of the legendary Greek heroes, like Hercules and is featured in many an adventure. He is immortalised in the heavens next to his beloved Andromeda . Perseus led an eventful life right from conception. His mother Danae, had been imprisoned by her father in an underground cell, lit only by a barred window in the ceiling. But the king of the gods, Zeus, desired her, and went to her in a shower of gold that fell as rain through the window. She became pregnant and gave birth to a boy-child, Perseus. Mystified and furious, her father locked them in a chest and cast them into the sea. To make a long story short, a fisherman saved them.

Later Perseus was tricked into going after the head of Medusa, one of the hideous Gorgon sisters. Medusa had snakes for hair, and her gaze would turn people into stone. But the gods were with Perseus, giving him a shining shield, a helmet that made him invisible, sword, and winged sandals so that he could fly,. Thus equipped, he flew to where the Gorgons lived. Finding Medusa, he looked at her only as a reflection in his shield. Then he sliced off her head and flew away with it. It was on his way home that he came across Andromeda chained to the to rocks, and killed the sea monster, Cetus that was about to eat her. He later married Andromeda.

The winking demon

In the sky, Perseus is depicted holding Medusa's head. The constellation lies within the Milky Way and so is a delight to sweep with binoculars. The brightest star, Alpha, is also known by its Arabic name Mirphak.

Perseus's second brightest star, Beta is located in Medusa's head. Its Arabic name is Algol, meaning demon's head and it has long been known as the Demon Star.

For most of the time, Algol shines steadily at a magnitude of about two. But about every three days, it dims noticeably. It is a kind of variable star known as an eclipsing binary. A binary is an object that looks like one star, but Is actually two, orbiting around each other. In Algol's case, one star is large and dim, the other small and bright. About every three days as we view the pair from Earth, the large, dim one covers up the small bright one, and so we see the overall brightness fall. When the dim star passes by, the former brightness returns.

Source book: " Tales of the Night Sky" by Robin Kerrod

Constellation picture from Pinterest

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