Cassiopeia the Queen in late winter and early spring
On late northern winter evenings and all through spring, Cassiopeia the Queen descends in her throne within the northwest after dusk. Cassiopeia is among the best constellations to identify due to its distinctive form. Cassiopeia appears to be like just like the letter W or M. Search for the Queen as your sky will get darkish in February and March. She’ll be decrease within the northwest as spring begins to unfold. For these within the northern U.S. and Canada, Cassiopeia is circumpolar, or above the horizon all night time each night time.
The celebs of Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia is residence to 5 shiny stars that kind the W form. Some describe these stars as outlining the chair – or throne – she sits upon. Should you’re viewing Cassiopeia because the letter W, the celebrities, from left to proper, are Segin, Ruchbah, Gamma Cassiopeiae, Schedar and Caph.
The way to discover Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia is reverse the Big Dipper within the northern sky. That’s, the 2 constellations lie on reverse sides of the pole star, Polaris. So when Cassiopeia is excessive within the sky, as it’s on evenings from about September by February, the Massive Dipper is low within the sky. Each March, when the Dipper is ascending within the northeast, on the brink of seem prominently once more within the night sky, Cassiopeia is descending within the northwest.
Neighboring star clusters
When you have a dark sky, look throughout the border of Cassiopeia into Perseus the Hero for a well-known binocular object. It’s the Double Cluster in Perseus. They’re open star clusters, every of which consists of younger stars nonetheless transferring collectively from the primordial cloud of gasoline and dust that gave start to them.
These clusters have a novel set of mismatched names: H and Chi Persei. Their names are from two completely different alphabets, the Greek and the Roman. Stars have Greek letter names, however most star clusters don’t. Johann Bayer (1572-1625) gave Chi Persei – the cluster on the highest – its Greek letter identify. Then, it’s mentioned, he ran out of Greek letters. That’s when he used a Roman letter – the letter H – to call the opposite cluster.
Lore of the Queen
In sky lore and in Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was a stupendous and useless queen of Ethiopia. It’s mentioned that she dedicated the sin of pleasure by boasting that each she and her daughter Andromeda have been extra stunning than Nereids, or sea nymphs.
Her boast angered Poseidon, god of the ocean, who despatched a sea monster (Cetus the Whale) to ravage the dominion. To pacify the monster, Cassiopeia’s daughter, Princess Andromeda, was left tied to a rock by the ocean. Cetus was about to devour her when Perseus the Hero occurred by on Pegasus the Winged Horse.
Perseus rescued the princess, and all lived fortunately … and the gods have been happy, so all of those characters have been elevated to the heavens as stars.
However – due to her vainness – Cassiopeia suffered an indignity. At some occasions of the night time or 12 months, this constellation has extra the form of the letter M, and you may think the Queen reclining on her starry throne. At different occasions of the 12 months or night time – as within the wee hours between midnight and daybreak in February and March – Cassiopeia’s Chair dips under the celestial pole. After which this constellation seems to us on Earth extra just like the letter W.
That’s when the Woman of the Chair – as she is typically referred to as – is upside-down and mentioned to hold on for pricey life. If Cassiopeia the Queen lets go, she’s going to drop from the sky into the ocean under, the place the Nereids should nonetheless be ready.
Backside line: The constellation Cassiopeia the Queen has the distinct form of a W or M. Discover her descending in her throne on late northern winter evenings and all through spring nights.
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