Perseus defended her from the king’s advances and Polydectes came up with a plan that would put Perseus out of the picture. Dictys had a brother, King Polydectes, who wanted Danaë for himself. However, their troubles did not end there. A fisherman called Dictys found them and took them home with him. The chest washed ashore within a few days, and Perseus and his mother found themselves on the island of Seriphos. Acrisius found out about the pregnancy and, once Perseus was born, the king locked both his daughter and grandson into a wooden chest and cast them out to sea.ĭanaë prayed to Zeus and the god heard her. When the rain fell into her lap, Danaë got pregnant. Zeus fell in love with her and took the form of golden rain to visit her. Acrisius ruled Argos and after an oracle foretold him that he would meet his end at the hand of his own grandson, he had locked away Danaë in a dungeon. Perseus was the son of Danaë, daughter of King Acrisius. The constellation Perseus represents the Greek hero Perseus in the sky and is one of the six constellations associated with the myth of Perseus. The location of Perseus, image: Wikisky Myth The famous variable star Algol, the second brightest star in Perseus, is found south of Mirfak. Mirfak appears as an extension of the chain. Andromeda’s three brightest stars form a chain that begins with Alpheratz at the northeast corner of the Great Square of Pegasus, and runs through Mirach to Almach. Mirfak can also be found using the bright stars of Andromeda and Pegasus. Mirfak, the brightest star in Perseus, is also the brightest star along this imaginary line. The Segment is easily found by following the imaginary line from Gamma Cassiopeiae (the central star of Cassiopeia’s W) through Ruchbah (Delta Cassiopeiae, the bottom right star of the W). The curved line begins with the orange supergiant Miram (Eta Persei) and runs through Gamma Persei and Mirfak (Alpha Persei) to Sigma, Psi and Delta Persei in the central part of the constellation. Perseus constellation is dominated by a curved pattern of stars known as the Segment of Perseus. Perseus is very easy to find because it has a distinctive shape and is surrounded by several recognizable patterns: Cassiopeia’s W to the north, Auriga‘s hexagon with the bright Capella to the east, the Pleiades to the south, and the chain of three brightest stars in Andromeda to the west. ![]() Perseus constellation map by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine How to find Perseus The proper names of stars that have been officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are Algol, Atik, Berehinya, Menkib, Miram, Mirfak, Misam, and Muspelheim. There are two meteor showers associated with the constellation the Perseids and the September Perseids. The brightest star in the constellation is Mirfak, Alpha Persei, with an apparent magnitude of 1.79. Perseus contains two Messier objects – Messier 34 (M34, NGC 1039) and Messier 76 (M76, Little Dumbbell Nebula, NGC 650 & NGC 651) – and has six stars with confirmed planets. Perseus belongs to the Perseus family of constellations, along with Andromeda, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cetus, Lacerta, Pegasus, and Triangulum. The three-letter abbreviation, adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1922, is Per. The genitive form of Perseus, used in star names, is Persei (pronunciation: /ˈpɜːrsiaɪ/). In English, the constellation is known as Perseus or the Hero. The constellation name Perseus is pronounced /ˈpɜːrsiəs/. The neighboring constellations are Andromeda, Aries, Auriga, Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, Taurus and Triangulum. It is located in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -35°. Perseus is the 24th largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 615 square degrees. Perseus also contains a number of famous deep sky objects, among them Messier 34, the Double Cluster, the California Nebula (NGC 1499) and the Little Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 76). It is also home to the famous variable star Algol, Beta Persei. ![]() The constellation is best known for its annual Perseid meteor shower. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Perseus is one of the larger northern constellations. It was named after the hero Perseus in Greek mythology. Perseus constellation lies in the northern sky, next to Andromeda.
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