The W (Cassiopeia)
Scouting the Stars with Mr. R.

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Mr. R.

 
The W (Cassiopeia)
The W (or the Queen Cassiopeia) is a circumpolar constellation, and like the Big Dipper it never sets below the horizon (unless you have mountains blocking your view). To find the W draw a line from the tail of the Big Dipper through the North Star.  On the other side you'll find five 2nd magnitude stars in the shape of a W, M, 3, or Sigma (depending on the season of the year).
Photo credit: John & Janet's (Amateur Astronomy)
Starlore  teaches that Queen Cassiopeia and King Cephus had a daughter named, Andromeda.  Cassiopeia boasted of Andromeda's beauty and claimed she was the most beautiful creature upon the earth.  When the sea nymphs heard of this they were angered, telling of these boastings to the sea god, Poseidon.   "Nothing upon the land is more beautiful than that which we have in the sea," he cried out, and in his anger he dispatched a sea monster, Cetus the Whale, to ravage the coastline.

Soon the sailors became afraid to sail, as their boats were destroyed one by one, and they appealed to King Cetus.  In order to appease the Cetus, Andromeda was chained to a rock to be devoured by the monster.  Fortunately the hero, Perseus happened by.  He fought killed the monster, liberated and married the beautiful Andromeda, and they flew off together atop Perseus' winged horse, Pegasus.

In the late fall and winter, one can see each of these constellations together in the night sky.

HELPFUL LINK TO "CONSTELLATION" INFORMATION
    Absolute Astronomy.com Choose your desired constellation
    The Dome Information on constellations, their stars, and starlore
    Allthesky.com Constellation photos, deep sky objects, observatories, etc.
    John & Janet's (Amateur Astronomy) Actual photos of constellations
    Teletrade Used telescopes and equipment (If he ain't got it, you don't need it!)
    PAS (Peorea Astronomical Society) Constallations info galore
    A Practical Guide to Astronomy Very educational site
    KidsAstronomy.com STARS--Red, yellow, blue, orange...

Return to: [5-Galaxy & Constellations]
[Archer] [Big Bear] [Crab] [Dragon] [Eagle] [Goat] [Harp] [Hercules] [Herdsman] [King] [Little Bear]
[Lion] [Northern Crown] [Scales] [Scorpion] [Swan] [Twins] [Virgin] ["W"]

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Webpage updated February 2003
Webmaster, Mr. R.