Circumpolar Constellations ExplainedĬircumpolar constellations are constellations that never set below the horizon when seen from a particular location on Earth. Here, we will learn all you need to know about circumpolar constellations, but let us begin from the very beginning. This is all possible because there are constellations in the night sky that remain relatively fixed in the sky throughout the years, which are known as circumpolar constellations. Constellations also served important practical functions as a navigational tool for sailors and travelers as well. Cepheus and Cassiopeia died and were immortalized in the stars by the gods, though Cassiopeia was placed upside-down for half of the year to temper her vanity.As we know, there are so many constellations we can observe in the night sky, and since the ancient days, our ancestors have treated the night sky with great importance.Ĭonstellations play an integral part in Greek and Roman mythology and religion. Medusa’s gaze instantly turned all who entered it into stone. He removed the head of Medusa - a snake-haired monster he had slain – from the bag where he kept it. Outnumbered, Perseus used a very special weapon to overcome his enemies.

A great battle began between Perseus and the supporters of Phineus. Now that their daughter was safe and sound, Cepheus and Cassiopeia forgot their promise to Perseus and sided with Phineus. During the wedding, however, Perseus learned that Andromeda had already been promised to another man, named Phineus. Perseus fought off the monster and was set to wed the girl. He struck a deal with Cepheus and Cassiopeia that if he saved Andromeda from the monster, he would win the right to marry her. To punish Cassiopeia for her vanity, Poseidon chained Andromeda to a rock to be devoured by a sea monster. Cassiopeia was said to be vain and boastful about her immense beauty, so much so that she claimed to be even more beautiful than the Nereids, the daughters of the sea-god Poseidon. It is said to represent a sitting woman, namely Cassiopeia wife of King Cepheus of Ethiopia and mother of Andromeda, whose own constellations sit next to hers in the sky. Like most of the old constellations, Cassiopeia takes its name from Greek mythology. It is interesting, however, for containing Cassiopeia A, a supernova that only became visible on Earth around 300 years ago.

It contains only two Messier objects, bright deep sky objects identified primarily by French astronomer Charles Messier during the 18th Century: open clusters M52 and M103. In all, the constellation contains 53 known stars, only five of which make up the W.

The constellation is easy to find due to its brilliance and simple shape: a letter W. It sits on the south side of the sky in the Northern Hemisphere, near Camelopardalis, Cepheus, Lacerta, Perseus, and Andromeda and across from the Big Dipper. Cassiopeia was one of the original 48 constellations cataloged by the Second Century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and is still one of 88 officially recognized modern constellations.

Constellation of cassiopeia