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Cas - Cassiopeia the Queen of Ethiopia

  • And - Andromeda the Princess of Ethiopia

    IAU Constellation
    And - Andromeda the Princess of Ethiopia

    Size

    19 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Andromeda contains one corner of the Great Square of Pegasus (the star Alpheratz). Andromeda’s dress flows outward from the corner along three pairs of stars, with each pair slightly farther apart than the previous pair. Perhaps she is petting Pegasus, who bore the hero Perseus across the ocean on his mighty wings to save her from the sea monster Cetus.

  • Cam - Camelopardalis the Giraffe

    IAU Constellation
    Cam - Camelopardalis the Giraffe

    Size

    18 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Circumpolar (northern)
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    A huge and dim constellation located between Perseus and Ursa Major.

  • Cas - Cassiopeia the Queen of Ethiopia

    IAU Constellation
    Cas - Cassiopeia the Queen of Ethiopia

    Size

    25 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Circumpolar (northern)
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Trace an imaginary line from the Big Bear’s pointers on past Polaris. At an equal distance on the opposite side from the Big Dipper is Cassiopeia (KASS-ee-oh-PAY-uh), an ancient Queen of Ethiopia.

    As she sits on her W-shaped throne she circles round and round the pole. Like the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia is circumpolar and therefore visible no matter what the season or time of night. In the fall Cassiopeia is in the shape of a W and in the Spring she is in the shape of a M.

  • Cep - Cepheus the King of Ethiopia

    IAU Constellation
    Cep - Cepheus the King of Ethiopia

    Size

    27 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Circumpolar (northern)
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    The Ethiopian king, Cepheus (SEE-fee-us), is a circumpolar constellation that sits atop the Milky Way on a throne near his queen Cassiopeia. The legs and seat of his throne make a rough square on the Ursa Major side of Cassiopeia. Cepheus looks like a house (or throne) sitting on the Milky Way. The back of the seat comes to a point at the top above his head.

  • Lac - Lacerta the Lizard

    IAU Constellation
    Lac - Lacerta the Lizard

    Size

    68 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Between Cepheus and Pegasus; no bright stars, but within the Milky Way.

  • Per - Perseus the Hero

    IAU Constellation
    Per - Perseus the Hero

    Size

    24 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Resembles a backward lambda. Located in the Milky Way, between Andromeda/Cassiopeia and Auriga/Taurus.

    Look for the Perseid meteor shower on August 12.

  • Urania's Mirror (1825) card: Cassiopeia

    Image

    UM-1825-Cassiopeia
  • Urania's Mirror (1825) figure: Custos Messium

    Image

    UM-1825-CustosMessium
  • M52

    Object image

    M52, Atlas Image courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF

    Object image source

    Atlas Image courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF
    Permission
    Public domain
  • M103

    Object image

    M103, Atlas Image courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF

    Object image source

    Atlas Image courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF
    Permission
    Public domain

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IAU Constellation Main Page

Tau - Taurus the Bull

IAU Constellation
Tau - Taurus the Bull

Size

17 of 88
Astronomical Regions
Zodiac
Northern
Equatorial

Intro and Visual description

Taurus the Bull is easily spotted. Its head is the Hyades, a V-shaped cluster of stars. His horns point outward from the V. Aldebaran is the red eye of the Bull as he charges down upon us.

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Kerry Magruder, Brent Purkaple, and Aja Tolman, editors, "The Sky Tonight: Cultural Archaeology of the Stars" (December 21, 2019 - ongoing), skytonight.org.


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