CASSIOPEIA

 

Cassiopeia is one of the most recognizable constellations in the skies because of its distinct "W" shape. In myth Cassiopeia was the queen of Ethiopia and is the mother of Andromeda. Cassiopeia is surrounded by family, her husband, Cepheus, lies to the north-east of her. While her daughter and son-in-law, Andromeda and Perseus, are located to the south of her. Since Cassiopeia is located near the north celestial pole, Cassiopeia can be seen at some length any night of the year.

 

Cassiopeia is home to many star clusters and nebula, as the constellation is almost completely located in the Milky Way. To find it, use the pointer stars of the Big Dipper and find Polaris. But keep going past Polaris and go about the same distance as the pointers are from Polaris. You should see five bright star in the shape of a W, or M if the season is right.

 

SCHEDAR: Schedar is the alpha star of Cassiopeia and has a faint companion star. This star is not physically related to Schedar, but just appears to be. The secondary star is ninth magnitude and bluish-white. It can be found easily in small scopes and contrasts nicely with the bright orange primary. Schedar is Arabic for "Breast".

 

GAMMA (g) CASSIOPEIAE: Gamma is the middle star of the "W" that the constellation is best known for. Gamma is one of the most unpredictable variable stars in the sky. Between 1910 and 1976 the star has fluctuated between mag. 1.6 and 3.1. It has remained around 2.2, but can still vary greatly. Gamma is a hot, blue star rotating so rapidly that it throws off shells of gas, thus producing the changes in brightness. Gamma is also a double star, but it is difficult to split the stars because of the primary's brightness. The companion has a mag. of eleven.

 

CAPH, RUCHBAH and EPSILON (e) CASSIOPEIAE: Caph is a 2nd mag. star that forms one end of the W. Caph has a 14th mag. companion, but they just apper to be related. Caph is Arabic for "Palm".

 

Ruchbah is a 3rd mag. star, which varies one tenth of a magnitude every 759 days. The variation comes from a companion star that eclipses the primary slightly. Ruchbah is Arabic for "Knee".

 

            Epsilon is a 3rd mag. star and is 520 light years distant, which makes it 1000 times brighter than the sun.

 

M52 and NGC 7635: M52 is a rich and fairly compact open star cluster on the western edge of the constellation. To locate M52 make a line from Schedar through Beta Cass, and continue it out for a distance slightly more than the separation of the "pointer" stars.

 

Less than a degree to the south-west is the faint nebula NGC 7635. It is more commonly known as the "Bubble Nebula", because of the ghostly bubble shape of the nebulosity. The Bubble Nebula is probably the remnant of a ancient nova.

 

M103 and NGC 654, 663 and 659: M103 is another open cluster, located near Delta Cass. This is not one of the brighter clusters, but is compacted in a wedge or fan shape. M103 can be seen easily with binoculars or small scopes. Since Cassiopeia is located in a rich part of the Milky Way. An observer with a good scope can scan this section of the sky and easily find star clusters and dense star fields.

 

To the east of M103 are three star clusters, NGC 654, 659 and 663. These three clusters make a wonderful sight when seen in the same field. These four clusters do not form a real group in space.

 

NGC 457: This is another open cluster, located near Phi (j) Cass., which appears to be a true member of the cluster. Since the cluster is 9300 light years away, that would mean Phi would have to be extremely bright to reach us on Earth. In fact, it would be 250,000 times more luminous than our Sun. Phi also is a double star, the separation is wide NGC 457 is said to look as if it were arranged in chains.

 

MYTHOLOGY: Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus, the Ethiopian king of Joppa (now known a Jaffa, in Israel), and the mother of Andromeda. Cassiopeia was a very beautiful woman, but also very vain. In fact, she Boasted that she was more beautiful than the daughters of the sea god Poseidon. Other versions of the tale say that it was the more ancient sea-god, Nereus, who was angered at Cassiopeia. The gods did not approve of any mere mortal claiming superiority over any deity. But for some reason people still did it. The punishment for this transgression fell not on Cassiopeia but on her husband's subjects, the people of Joppa. The form of punishment was a giant sea serpent that ravaged the coast line and devoured many Ethiopians. They learned from an oracle that the only way to stop the monster was the sacrificing of the King's daughter to it. Cepheus was unhappy about this, but he grudgingly sent his daughter to be eaten by the sea monster.

 

While Andromeda was chained to a rock, Perseus flew overhead with his winged sandals, fresh from slaying Medusa. Whose head was in his magical bag. Perseus saw her and flew down to try to free her, and Andromeda explained the situation. When the monster came to eat it's meal, Perseus sliced its head off. Then he returned with the rescued maiden to ask for her hand in marriage.

 

Cepheus was more than happy to have Andromeda marry Perseus, for he saved his daughter and got rid of the horrible monster. Cassiopeia, on the other hand, felt that Andromeda would be better off with her former suitor, Agenor. Who was nowhere to be seen when she was chained to the rock. Cassiopeia convinced Agenor to disrupt the ceremony by claiming Andromeda as his own.

 

Agenor arrived with a small army and a fierce struggle ensued. Perseus brought out the head of Medusa and turned Agenor and most of his men into stone with it. Unfortunately, the King and Queen were accidentally turned to stone.

 

A contrite Poseidon put both king and queen in the heavens. But because of Cassiopeia's vanity, he placed her in a chair which revolves around the Pole Star, so half the time she's obliged to sit upside down. Why Poseidon would give the vain queen so much honor the author fails to see after she gave so much trouble to just about everybody.

 

 Perseus and Andromeda are also in the sky adjacent to Cassiopeia. Even the sea serpent is nearby, known as Cetus. It is mostly known as a whale, not a very fearsome creature, but that is what it is supposed to represent. The final member of this constellation family is Pegasus, the winged horse who sprung from the neck of Medusa when Perseus slew her.

 

Written and illustrated by Nik Aiavaliotis

Published by El Valle Astronomers. Lee Mesibov, President. 505-579-4604.