Perseus the Hero

Near the very top of the sky around 7 PM it is easy to see the Great Square of Pegasus in the late Fall. If you need help finding the constellation, I posted about it here. And of course, off of Pegasus it is easy to find Andromeda the Princess. Once you find Andromeda, it is easy to find Perseus the Hero! Andromeda and Perseus are the main characters in an ancient Greek soap opera in our Fall skies.

If you follow the line of stars in Andromeda, they point to a wishbone-shaped group of stars that represents Perseus.

Looking at the top of the sky (facing south) you can see the Square of Pegasus and the line of stars for Andromeda. Andromeda points to a group of stars in a wishbone shape. Can you find it? Image Credit: Stellarium

There is a very beautiful pair of stars cluster in Perseus. You can see a clump of bright fuzzy light with your unaided eye. Andromeda's line of stars points right to it. With binoculars or a telescope, that fuzzy light resolves into two beautiful star clusters.  

Double star cluster in Perseus. Image Source

If you have trouble finding the star shapes, the lines are drawn in for you below. Perseus is high in the southeast at 7 PM this time of year. 

Andromeda points the way to Perseus. Image Credit: Stellarium

Andromeda and Perseus are the main characters in an ancient Greek legend. There are many versions of the story; I will relate a popular version here. Andromeda's parents, Cassiopeia and Cepheus, are also represented as constellations in the northern skies. Cassiopeia was famed for her beauty, and was very vain. She boasted of her beauty to anyone who would listen, including the sea nymphs (also known for their allure). One of the sea nymphs was married to Poseidon, the god of the sea. She was angry at Cassiopeia for being so arrogant, and asked Poseidon to punish her. Poseidon sent a sea monster, Cetus to destroy Cassiopeia and Cepheus' kingdom. Cetus is also represented as a constellation in the fall skies. 

Cetus the Sea Monster as drawn by Johannes Hevelius. Pretty nasty looking creature. Image Credit: Uranographia

Cassiopeia was vain, but not heartless. She didn't want her kingdom destroyed, so prayed to Zeus asking for his intercession. Zeus couldn't directly defy Poseidon (he was a fellow god after all) so offered a work around. If Cepheus and Cassiopeia offered their daughter Andromeda as a sacrifice to Cetus, Zeus would save their kingdom. What were the loving parents to do? Well, they chained Andromeda to the sea wall to be sacrificed. 

Perseus and Andromeda, 1891. Frederic Leighton, Walker Art Gallery

Andromeda was in dire straits, but never fear, Perseus was about to fly by on his winged sandals. He had just defeated the Medusa, a terrible creature with snakes for hair and whose gaze turned people into stone. I wrote about the Medusa here, when I told the story of Pegasus. Perseus noticed Andromeda in distress, fell instantly in love, and knew he must rescue her from Cetus. Luckily, he had judiciously saved the head of the Medusa, and pulling it out of his sack, turned Cetus into stone. (According to some versions of the tale, he cut the head of Cetus off with his diamond sword, and used Medusa's head to turn an evil king into stone.) He rescued Andromeda and married her. The couple had 6 children, many of whom starred in their own Greek legends. 

Interested in learning more details of the story? I recommend Ian Ridpath's Star Tales - Perseus and Andromeda.

To learn how to find all the characters in this ancient tale, visit the Dome at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, where we show you how to find current planets and constellations every day we are open at 2:30, in our Stars Over Peoria show. Through the end of December we are also showing a family friendly version of this story (illustrated with lasers!)  at 12:30 Tuesday-Saturday, and 1:15 on Sunday, called Legends of the Night Sky: Perseus and Andromeda. 

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