Constellations: Cassiopeia

Hercules is a large and prominent constellation. It is visible from the Northern Hemisphere from April to November. Despite its large size, Hercules does not have any bright stars. As a result only one or two of the stars of Hercules are visible from cities. I chose Hercules because I have heard his story before, but I did not know it well and wanted to know it better.

First, the zodiacal constellations provide the backdrop for the pathway of the sun around our sky each year, and of the moon for every month. Since the sun’s path lies within these constellations, you know you can look for them along the approximate path that the sun follows during the day from east to west across the sky. The constellations of the Zodiac should be visible during the month of October.

Orion is my favorite constellation because it is one of the easiest to find and most recognizable. This makes it one of the most popular constellations. Orion's belt includes the three brightest stars in the sky. In the Northern Hemisphere, Orion is a fall and winter constellation, visible from November to February. One of Orion's "stars" is actually a nebula, the Orion nebula.

I have chosen the Perseus Constellation. I chose that contallation because I have always liked the Greek Gods mythology. Perseus, named after the Greek Mythology hero, is a constellation in the Northen Sky. Perseus is bordered by Aries and Taurus to the south, Auriga to the east, Camelopardalis and Cassiopeia to the north, and Andromeda and Triangulum the west.

The autumn constellations Andromeda and Perseus, along with Cetus, Pegasus, Cassiopeia and Cepheus, are richly intertwined in mythology, but are vastly diverse in the objects they present to astronomers. While Perseus lies along the Milky Way, and offers many dazzling open star clusters and diffuse nebulae, Andromeda lies away from our galaxy's plane, and introduces us to the inhabitants of intergalactic space. Some of the finest celestial objects reside in these constellations, and it is well worth braving cool autumn nights to observe them.

I chose the Andromeda constellation because Greek mythology is very interesting to me, and I love the story behind this constellation. Andromeda is most prominent during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.

For my essay on my favorite constellation I have chosen Canis Major, The Great Dog. I have chosen Canis Major because of how he and Canis Minor are often depicted as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. I have also chosen Canis Major because it contains Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, also known as "The Dog Star". Canis Major is located in the Southern Hemisphere with Monoceros to the north, Puppis to the east/southeast, Columba to the southwest, and Lepus to the west. Canis Major is one of the brightest constellations because of it's many bright stars. It is most visible at 9:00 P.M. in February.

The Pegasus is a large constellation in the northern hemisphere. It can be seen between +90° and -60° latitudes. It is named after the winged horse Pegasus found after Greek mythology. Ptolemy, a 2nd century astronomer, recorded it as one of the forty eight constellations. The Pegasus belongs to a group or family of constellations known as Perseus, which includes Auriga, Cepheus, Cetus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Perseus, and Lacerta. The Pegasus is one of the largest star constellations. It is the seventh largest constellation in the sky which covers 1,121 square degrees area. The four major stars: Markab (Alpha Peg), Algenib (Gamma Pegasi), Scheat (Beta Peg), Alperatz ( Alpha Andromedae), and forms The Great Square of Pegasus. One

Another constellation is Orion, which is also known as “The Hunter” in Latin. It is one of the easiest constellations to find in the sky because many people spot Orion's belt in the sky. To find the belt, you have to look for three bright stars in a line and to the left of the belt you can find Orion’s hunting dogs, Canis Minor and Canis Major. Also, you can look for the left side of the hunter’s shoulder, Bellatrix and the right side of his shoulder which is Betelgeuse; these will help you locate where Orion is, since these stars are part of Orion. Another tip for finding Orion is looking for its seven brightest stars, which is sort of in a form of an hourglass and is located on the celestial equator. Orion is the most visible in the western sky and during the wintertime, so if you want to find orion look near the equator and for the three bright

The Lyra constellation lies in the northern sky; It is located in the fourth quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ4) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -40° between spring and autumn, and nearly overhead, in temperate latitudes, during the summer months. From the southern hemisphere, it is visible low in the northern sky during the winter months; it’s quite a small constellation, making it 52nd in size. The major stars in Lyra include: Vega, the brightest star, Sulafat, the second brighter star, Sheliak, R Lyrae, δ Lyrae (Delta Lyrae), the Double Double, RR Lyrae, DM Lyrae, κ Lyrar (Kappa Lyrae), Alathfar μ Lyrae (Mu Lyrae), the Gliese 758, and Kuiper 90 (17 Lyrae C, Gliese 747AB). The star shows a regular pattern of pulsation

I have chosen the Pegasus constellation because of its amazing and complex shape. The Pegasus constellation is located in the northern hemisphere and is one of the largest constellations in the universe. Pegasus is the seventh largest constellation and it occupies 1121 square degrees. You can see it at latitudes between +90º and -60º. It is located in the forth quadrant of the northern hemisphere. It has 9 stars in its constellation and its largest and brightest star is Enif. It is bordered by Andromeda to the North and East, Lacerta to the North, Cygnus to the Northwest, Vulpecula, Delphinus, and Equuleus to the West, Aquarius to the South and Pisces to the South and East.

Circumpolar stars are stars that are visible throughout the entire year because their path is always above the horizon. Circumpolar stars are located near celestial poles, so they travel in a smaller circle around the pole. Because stars that are farther away from the celestial poles travel in larger circles, their path is sometimes hidden by the horizon. According to the diagram on p. 29, more stars are circumpolar at the North Pole because it is directly beneath the north celestial pole. Standing at the North Pole, you would be able to see the entire path of all of the stars north of the celestial equator.

Canis Minor was discovered by the greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. This constellation in particular is located at a distance of 11.4 light-years away, and it is also very close to the constellation dog of Erigone. Canis Minor is visible at latitudes of +90 degrees and -75 degrees, also times of visibility of this constellation is at 9 p.m. in the evening sky from the month of January to March.

PZ Cassiopeiae, a red supergiant 9,160 light years away from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia, has a radius of 1,190 solar radii and a mass 25 times that of the Sun.

Cepheus is an inconspicuous constellation, which is dimmer than most and in the northern hemisphere located west of Cassiopeia. It has been recognized that the binary star Cephei from its constellation, will be the next Polar star between AD 3000 and 5200 (fourth and sixth century), and will be in a position adjacent the celestial pole around AD 4000 (fifth century). The constellation encompasses various nebulae, star clusters and galaxies such as the Milky Way which transverses an area of the Cephus constellation by way of its adjoining southern space with Lacerta.