Astronomy Constellation Project Joanne Lee

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'W' shape formed by five bright stars. In the sky Cassiopeia sits with Andromeda on the South side, Perseus on the South East and Cepheus to the North. She is opposite the Big Dipper, and can be seen the clearest in early November. In Greek mythology it was considered to represent the vain queen Cassiopeia, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopeia was the queen and consort of King Cepheus in Ethiopia. Their daughter Andromeda was very beautiful. Cassiopeia herself was a great beauty and was vain of it; she proclaimed her beauty was greater than that of the Nereids', the daughters of the sea god Poseidon. To punish Cassiopeia, he sentenced Andromeda to be tied to a rock with a sea monster awaiting her. Perseus, returning from having slaughtered the gorgon Medusa, encountered Andromeda lashed to the rock. He spoke to Cassiopeia and her husband and struck a deal with them: he would be allowed to marry Andromeda if he could kill the great sea monster before it killed their virgin daughter. Perseus defeated

the monster, took Andromeda and returned to Ethiopia. Cassiopeia and Cepheus fulfilled their end of the bargain and began to plan the wedding for Andromeda. After the nuptials began, Phineus entered the proceedings and demanded his right to marry Andromeda. A battle ensued in which Cepheus and Cassiopeia sided with Phineus. Outnumbered, Perseus considered that he had no choice but to slay his challengers by using the head of the recently slaughtered Medusa. Following their death both Cepheus and Cassiopeia were placed among the stars by Poseidon. Cassiopeia was put upside down for half the year because of her vanity, with her husband beside her. The story of Cassiopeia related above is the best known version, but there were variant traditions. According to one, Cassiopeia was a consort of the god Zeus. In this account they had a son named Atymnios (not a daughter), with whom two men fell in love. There is no mention of a betrothed uncle, nor of a sea monster, nor of the head of Medusa. Cassiopeia was however hung upside down in a chair in the stars upon her death. Names and spellings in the myth also vary with the culture of the myth-tellers. The Greek god Poseidon is known as Neptune in Roman mythology. Cassiopeia, and Cassiopea are Latinized spellings, whereas the Greek name has been transliterated as Kassiopeia, Kassiopea, Cassiope, or Cassiepia. Also, the object in which Cassiopeia sits in varies with the culture. In Greek and Roman stories, she reposes upside down in a chair. In Arabic culture, Cassiopeia is seen as a camel, while others see a hand or moose antlers in the sky. The best time to view Cassiopeia is Autumn, November, when she is high overhead. 9 to 11 p.m. Cassiopeia constellation is visible at latitudes between +90 and -20

Pegasus

Pegasus is dominated by an asterism in the shape of a rough square, although one of the stars, Delta Pegasi or Sirrah, is now officially considered to be part of Andromeda, ( Andromedae) and is more usually called "Alpheratz". The white, winged horse Pegasus was the offspring of Poseidon and the Gorgon , Medusa, springing from the latter's neck when she was killed by Perseus. He immediately flew to Mount Helicon and struck the ground with his hoof. The resulting stream which flowed from the spot he had pawed became sacred to the Muses. Some time later Pegasus was to help Perseus to rescue Andromeda from the dreadful sea monster Cetus. Bellerophon, the grandson of Sisyphus (a selfish man punished by the Gods for his arrogance by being forced to continually push an enormous boulder to the top of a hill, only for it to roll back down just as the goal seemed within reach) was also greatly aided by Pegasus when undertaking several dangerous missions, including his fight against the Chimaera, the three-headed monstrous female. However, the success of this and other missions turned Bellerophon's head and he, too, became arrogant. So much so, that although a mere mortal, he forced Pegasus to fly him to Mount

Olympus, the home of the Gods. Zeus , greatly annoyed at Bellerophon's presumption that he was worthy to be in such august company, sent an insect to bite Pegasus on his flank, causing him to rear up and throw Bellerophon to the ground. He was then dispatched back to earth, and ended his days a sad and lonely figure, blind and lame. For Pegasus, however, there was the reward of a place in the stables on Mount Olympus, and the opportunity to carry around Zeus's thunderbolts Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of October. Ascension- 23 hr. Declination is 20