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Cassiopeia (pronounced /„kæsipi-“/, colloquially /„kæsi-o-pi“/) is a constellation in the northern sky. In Greek mythology it was considered to represent the vain queen Cassiopeia, who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 1st century Greek astronomer Ptolomey, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Cassiopeia is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'W' shape formed by five bright stars.
Notable features
Cassiopeia contains two stars visible to the naked eye that rank among the most luminous in the galaxy: - Cas and V509 Cas. The star - Cas is a nearby (19.4 ly) binary star comprising a yellow Sun-like dwarf and an orange dwarf star. Cassiopeia looks like a W or a crown.
Two Messier objects, Messier 52 (NGC 7654) and Messier 103 (NGC 581) are located in Cassiopeia. Both are open clusters and being 7th apparent magnitude objects they are easy targets with binoculars.
The supernova known as Tycho's Star, or SN 1572, was widely observed in Cassiopeia in 1572. The scientific description of this star was written by Tycho Brahe, and its appearance is said to have led Johannes Kepler to become an astronomer.
If we were able to observe Earth's Sun from Alpha Centauri, the Sun would appear in Cassiopeia as a yellow-white 0.5 magnitude star. The famous "W" of Cassiopeia would become a zig-zag pattern with the Sun at the leftmost end, closest to - Cas.
See also
References
- Krause O, Rieke GH, Birkmann SM, Le Floc'h E, Gordon KD, Egami E, Bieging J, Hughes JP, Young ET, Hinz JL, Quanz SP, Hines DC (2005). "Infrared echoes near the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A". Science 308 (5728): 1604-6. doi:10.1126/science.1112035. PMID 15947181.
- Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.
External links
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Constellation history |
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The 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy after 150 AD |
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The 41 modern additional constellations from 1603 AD and forth |
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