Perseus
(PURR-see-us)
The
Hero
The Greek Hero, Perseus,
is one of the constellations that tell the story of the Chained Princess, Andromeda, constellations that dominate
the autumn and winter skies.
Visibility at 8
PM (9 Daylight Saving): Perseus is visible from October through
April, reaching the Zenith in January.
What to look for: Perseus
is represented by three curly lines or stars in the Milky Way. The central line stretches from Zeta Persei,
the hero's striding left foot, just above the Pleiades Cluster, the Seven
Sisters. in Taurus, the Bull, toward
Eta Per., the hilt of the sword raised above the hero's head. A second line
branches from the star Mirphak (Alpha Per.) in the central line westward to Mu
Per., the bent knee of his right leg.
The third line reaches from Eta Per. southward to a curlicue
representing the head of the slain Gorgan Medusa, her winking eye, the
eclipsing variable star Algol (Beta Per.).
The Hero Perseus
Andromeda, the
Chained Princess, lies to the west. Her
mother, Queen Cassiopeia, lies to
the north, with her father, King Cepheus,
beyond that. To the southeast is Auriga, the Charioteer, to the south
is Taurus, the Bull, and to the
southwest is Ares, the Ram.
Mythology: Perseus
was a mortal son of Zeus (Jupiter in Latin), King of the Olympian Gods, and a
hero whose greatest exploit began when Athena (Minerva), Goddess of wisdom,
appeared to him in a dream: "Your
mission, should you decide to accept it, is to rid the world of the Gorgan,
Medusa, a once beautiful woman who has been transformed by her vanity into a monster
with a nest of writhing snakes for hair. and a face so hideous that all who look
at her turn to stone." The
goddess loaned Perseus her shield, and warned him to look only at Medusa's
reflected image in its polished surface.
She offered him the use of other tools of the gods in his quest: The winged sandals of Hermes (Mercury),
Messenger of the Gods; a cap of invisibility, from Hades (Pluto), God of the
Underworld; and a mighty sword forged by Heiphestus (Vulcan), the Craftsman of the gods. After many months of adventures, Perseus
found the seaside lair of Medusa, and used Athena's shield and the other gifts
of the gods to sneak up on monster and cut off her head. A few drops of Medusa's blood fell into the
sea, and were transformed into Pegasus,
the Winged Horse. Perseus stuffed the
head of Medusa safely into a bag, mounted the friendly horse, and flew off
seeking more adventures.
High above the coast of Ethiopia, he looked down to see a
beautiful young woman, the Princess Andromeda, chained to a rock, as a horrible
Sea Monster, Cetus, was approaching
to devour her. How Andromeda got into
that predicament, and how Perseus saved her, is told on her own page.
A deeper look: In the sword of Perseus, halfway between his stars and those of Cassiopeia, can be seen a bright patch
in the Milky way that binoculars reveal is not one, but two star clusters, h
and chi Persei known together as the Double Cluster.
Double Cluster in Perseus
Photo by Conrad Jung
and Rodger Mayeda
