Cassiopeia - a constellation that perpetuated the heroes of the ancient world

Cassiopeia is a constellation that is located in the northern hemisphere of our sky. Interestingly, only a part of its stars belong to the Milky Way galaxy.

First observations and legends

The modern name for this cluster of stars was given by the ancient Greeks. The ancients believed that this was ascended to heaven by the wife of the king of Ethiopia, Kefei, and the mother of Andromeda Cassiopeia. The constellation was presented to the inhabitants of Greece as the embodiment of her beauty and incredible boasting, for which she was placed in the sky. According to legend, this The queen once boasted that both she and her daughter are more beautiful than the Nereids. The Nereids complained to Poseidon for such impudence, after which he sent a sea monster to Ethiopia, who devoured people and flooded the makeweight. Apollodorus wrote that the oracle told Kefei the path to salvation. The latter had to sacrifice his own beautiful daughter, Andromeda. Cassiopeia opposed this decision, but the people of Ethiopia forced the royal family to do so for the sake of saving all the inhabitants of the country. Andromeda was given to the monster to be eaten as a ransom sacrifice. She was chained to the bottom of the cliff by the sea. At that moment Perseus flew over the country on his winged horse Pegasus. He saved the girl, beheaded the monster and took her as his wife. However, the girl was promised to be married to Phineas, who was his brother Cefei. The consequence was the battle Between supporters of Phineas and Perseus, as a result of which many opponents from both sides were killed. Subsequently, all the characters of this legend took their place in the starry sky

The first scientific observations

Serious study of the cluster began already in the New Times. So, in 1572 a famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe noticed the sudden emergence of a new star. This star in the constellation Cassiopeia at first shone extremely brightly. However, within sixteen months, its light gradually weakened, until it disappeared altogether. At the time of the Danish astronomer, this phenomenon was not yet known, but he observed a supernova explosion that was formed as a result of the explosion. By the way, until today, this explosion in the cluster is the last supernova from the Milky Way, which had to be observed by man.

Information about the constellation

In the cluster there are 76 visible stars with the naked eye. The constellation Cassiopeia (pictured right) has an asterism, which is called "W-asterism", because the five brightest stars in the cluster create a figure resembling the corresponding letter. Each of the stars of this asterism has its own name: Navi, Shedar, Kaf, Rukbah, Segin. Observing Cassiopeia is possible throughout the year, but the best time for this is in September, October and November, when it is seen as clearly as possible. Cassiopeia - a constellation, also located in a close environment of other congestions: the Giraffe, Cepheus, Lizards, Andromeda, Perseus. But, despite this, it is quite easy to find it: for this you need to draw a mentally straight line from the brightest star of the Great Bear through the Polar Star. The continuation of this line will be Cassiopeia. The constellation is clearly visible on the territory of Russia.