The constellation of perseus, in a scientific textbook. Luckily, its a seaworthy chest and the two float to the island of serifos, where theyre. Several of the neighboring constellations perseus, cassiopeia, cetus, and cepheus. Perseus is a constellation in the northern hemisphere.
In hot haste the youthful band leaps forth on the hesperian. Perseus contains between 6 and 22 stars in its primary asterism and. The constellations andromeda and perseus, along with pegasus, casseopiea and cepheus, are richly intertwined in mythology, but are vastly divergent in the objects they present to amateur astronomers. Perseus is one of the oldest constellations, having been cataloged by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the second century, and it has more than one attraction for stargazers.
In europe, the earliest known printed illustrations of the greek constellations appeared in poeticon astronomicon, a latin text first published in 1482 that relays myths associated with the cosmos. The zodiac constellations are helpful in locating planets in the night sky since the planets wander in the zone of the zodiac. For more details on the stories found here, consult percy m. It was first charted by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer. Andromeda daughter of king cepheus and queen cassiopeia. A couple of interesting deep sky objectscan be seen in perseus.
She looks like a w or m in the sky, depending on where she is. Not the representation of people joining christ that i want to see. My ultimate goal for this translation is to have virgils work be read and enjoyed by a modern reader. Perseus constellation perseus, named after the greek mythological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northern sky. Perseus grandfather, acrisius, the king of argos, was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. Ross exton of the live science team shows you how to find the constellation, along with algol the demon star. The nereids felt insulted by this and complained to the sea god poseidon. It is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding perseus. The gorgons were three sisters, only one of whom, medusa, was mortal.
For aspiring astronomers or anyone who has ever been captivated by the beauty of the stars, atlas of the constellations is a wonderfully accessible and comprehensive guide to the night sky. Lyra and perseus constellations ascension glossary. Drops of blood that fell into libya turned into deadly snakes that remain in the desert to this day. Andromeda is represented in the sky as the figure of a woman with her arms outstreched and chained at the wrists.
Annaeus lucanus, pharsalia, book 6, line 4 perseus. Part of that may because i was up late reading it, but i found all the major constellations to be a really good book. Perseus was the son of the greek god zeus and the mortal princess danae. Andromedas mother claimed that they were more beautiful than the sea nymphs, the nereids. The 16thcentury english bibliophile, robert cotton, sometimes bound together unrelated manuscripts. Students divide into groups of four or five and distribute materials to design stardarts by drawing and cutting out 6 8 cardstock stars, each about one and a half inches across.
Located north of the celestial equator, it is named for andromeda, daughter of cassiopeia, in the greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster cetus. Aeneass journey to the underworld in book vi is another of the aeneid s most famous passages. Dip in to the glorious constellations for an illuminated history of the mythology of the star patterns that guide and console us on our journey through time and space. This book isnt meant to be read straight through, nor is it meant to be a technical manual. Acrisius locked his daughter danae in a dungeon to prevent her bearing a child. This was a rather complex task, as anyone who saw her hideous face would be turned immediately to stonethe gorgons, according to bulfinch, were monstrous females with huge teeth like those of swine, brazen claws, and snaky hair bulfinchs. Proctors excellent book, star myths and stories, from exposition press, inc. Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle.
Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero perseus. Perseus punished proteus for his treason by turning him into stone. In fact, this passage helped raise virgil to the status of a christian prophet in the middle ages. In the winter sky of the northern hemisphere, perseus can be seen flanked by taurus, aries, andromeda and cassiopeia. The aeneid is an epic poem, but written in a style that i find would be not easily related to in the english language. Perseus, constellation in the northern sky at about 4 hours right ascension and 40 north in declination. Bullinger in his fascinating book the witness of the stars, tells us about the meaning of the constellations of the zodiac, and the stars that comprise them.
Perseus is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere that is visible during december. But the discus veered off course and struck a spectator, killing him. In the western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from ptolemys list in the almagest which in turn has roots that go back to mesopotamian astronomy, and most of the far southern. This beautiful volume features accurate and clear star charts and diagrams of all. All five figures are represented in the sky as constellations. It covers 615 square degrees of sky and ranks 24th in constellation size. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero. Originally a beautiful maiden, medusa was transformed into a hideous monster by the goddess minerva. Historymythical origin perseus was one of the great heroes of classical mythology. A collection of curricula for the starlab greek mythology. The mythology of the constellation guide andromeda, page 1. Theres adventureand tragedyabound in an audio version of andromeda and perseus that details the rescue of. One day perseus decided to enter an athletic contest.
Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2ndcentury grecoroman astronomer ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. So father anchises spoke, and while they marvelled, added. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy,1 and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union iau. From him was derived the ancient name of thessaly, haemonia 3 medea 4 it was supposed that there was on the forehead of the newborn foal an excrescence, which was bitten off and eaten by the mother. Hgs sessions clearing lyra and perseus constellations 3222015. A partial englishlanguage translation is given in picatrix. Perseus the breaker, two comets and the head of satan. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious. Start studying translation the aeneid, book 1, line 149, 223494. The first choice i had to make about my translation of the aeneid was whether i should write in poetry or prose. The tale of his miraculous conception in a shower of gold was told by bunch of the heavy hitters in ancient poetry scene. It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy, and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union iau. Constellation in greek, translation, englishgreek dictionary.
Just before the monster, named cetus, ate the princess, perseus saved her. Acrisius doesnt buy the whole zeusasashowerofgold story, so he locks his daughter and grandson in a chest and throws them into the sea. After that things settled down for perseus and life was quiet. Xenophon, hellenica, book 6, chapter 1, section 19 perseus. The characters in his story are represented by six constellations that occupy a substantial part of the sky. The constellation depicting perseus lies in a prominent part of the milky way, which is perhaps why aratus termed him duststained. Perseus ngc869 and ngc884 make up the famous double cluster, a related pair of star clusters that form one of the richest sights in the sky for small telescopes. Theseus, heracles, and odysseus were all trying to step to the awesomeness that was the pdog as his friends called him. One author being an astrologer and the other a magician, i would rate it as a popular book. Or trace with pointed wand the cycled heaven, and hail the constellations as they rise. This has been inferred to be an object with a maximum mass of 6 times that of jupiter and an orbital. Hes actually thought to be the oldest of all the greek heroes. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane, and lets. The myth of perseus tells how he was sent on a quest to bring back a gorgons head to king polydectes. Traditionally, the star algol is the most malevolent star of the heavens. Perseus he was the son of jupiter and danae, and is best known for his killing of the gorgon medusa. The guts of the book are 45 sharp, wellreproduced widefield photos of constellations with constellation lines and art on transparent overlays. Constellations bordering perseus to be added in next iteration of this page stars in perseus stars that have common names often have multiple names, so the common names shown if any cannot be considered authoritative. Myth about andromeda and perseus windows to the universe. The galactic equator is crossing our field of view, whereas in these fields pointing so far away from the galactic center, the star fields are not very dense. Each photo is accompanied by a page of text that outlines the basic shape of the constellation, notable stars and deepsky objects, and. In 2006, perseus became the location of the largest supernova on record when a star 100200 times more massive than the sun exploded. This one contains a fragment of an early 12thcentury english scientific textbook from peterborough and an 11thcentury pontifical manual of services conducted by a bishop, part of which was probably made in france but to which additions were made at sherborne abbey in dorset.
Aeneid book 6, lines 450 to 474 harvard university. The earliest known printed illustrations of the greek. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. The constellation was named after the mythical hero perseus. Each cluster covers more than 12 degree of sky, with ngc869 being the brighter and richer of the pair. Perseus, whose mother, danae, was impregnated by jove in a shower of golden rain, flew over the earth with medusas severed head in his hands. Zodiac constellations zodiac is a greek word meaning pertaining to animals, with the zodiac constellations included in the overall list of 88 constellations. Ovid has perseus stab the monster to death after a drawnout, bloody battle, while other versions have the hero simply hold up the head of medusa, turning the monster to stone. It is home to the perseid meteor shower which peaks around august 9 and can produce up to 60100 meteors per hour. The king of the gods streams into the chamber as a shower of gold and impregnates danae with little baby perseus. He says these things, and friends yield from the plain by order. Inter quas phoenissa recens a volnere dido errabat silva in magna. In greek mythology, andromeda was the daughter of cassiopeia and cepheus, the king of ethiopia.
Wikimedia commons has media related to perseus constellation. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the. Ptolemy described perseus and 47 other constellations in the second century. In the fourteenth century, the italian poet dante used it as the foundation for his journey through hell in the inferno, even though virgils. Where to look in skythe zodiac constellations lie in a band along the ecliptic that is best viewed when due south of you. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme.
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