Welcome! My name is Janine and in this video we will learn about the constellation known as
Perseus. Perseus is represented as a Greek hero and it's an ancient constellation. The
earliest records date back to the Babylonian star catalogues that come from the ancient Mesopotamia
era of human history. It's named after a Greek mythological hero and it's recorded as one of
Ptolemy's 48 constellations in the second century. Some depictions of Perseus show him holding the
head of Medusa. Medusa was a mythological creature who had snakes for hair. If she looked at you,
you turned to stone. This star right here is meant to represent the head of Medusa. This star
is called the Demon Star, or its proper name is Algol. It's the second brightest star in this
entire constellation. What's interesting about the Demon Star is that its brightness changes over
a period of time. That's because it's an eclipsing binary. This is a triple star system.
When one of the stars travels behind the other, it starts to dim. It can change brightness
over time. It gets dimmer, and then brighter, dimmer, brighter. This can be recorded over time and
that's one of those special little things about Perseus. You can also learn to identify it through
the star clusters like one right here and here as well. So, when can you see it and what does it look
like? This is what the shape of Perseus looks like. This is meant to represent his head. I kind of like
to think of this as his hat. We have an arm, another arm here, these are his legs, and then this is his
torso. If you notice, the hat portion kind of points towards this double star cluster. That's one
of those features of this constellation. So, when can you see Perseus? Perseus is best seen in the
Northern Hemisphere during the autumn months into the early winter months. You want to
look for those star clusters that are nearby to Cassiopeia and Auriga. So Auriga would be on this
side of the constellation and Cassiopeia would be over here. In between those two constellations
that's when you want to look for those different star clusters that are littered throughout this
constellation. I've also used the Pleiades Star Cluster to find Perseus as well. The Pleiades is
a really recognizable star cluster that's in the constellation of Taurus. There are many variations
of this star pattern as well and this is true for some other constellations as well. So as you
look at different resources in books or online, just notice that the pattern of Perseus can vary.
Let's review the pattern that Perseus makes across the sky.
Here we have the official star map of Perseus released by the International Astronomical Union.
Notice all the constellations that surround Perseus. We have Andromeda, there's Triangulum, Aries,
down here is Taurus, and this feature right here is the Pleiades. I often use the Pleiades to
help me find Perseus. There's also Auriga and it has that very bright star known as Capella. So
if you can find Auriga and you know where Andromeda is, Perseus is in between the two.
There's also Cassiopeia, right here, which you can use as a pointer towards Perseus. Also there
are some interesting celestial objects to notice here. This right here is a double star cluster.
I often see this whenever I'm viewing Perseus. There's also some other objects here as well and
two brighter stars which we will examine as well. Also notice the shape. Here's his head. He kind of
has two arms that go out, this is his body, and then his legs as well. So let's get some practice with
looking at some pictures . As you look at this picture, what are the things that stand out to you?
For me, I noticed the star clusters and a few of them as well. I noticed this
area, right here, looks like a star cluster. Then, this down here. So let's work backwards.
First, this is the Pleiades, this is one of the star clusters in Perseus, and this is the other
double cluster I spoke of before. If we were to point out the pattern, here we have the head
with his little hat, he has an arm that comes off here, here's his other arm, and then here are
his legs, and then this is his torso. So remember, depending upon the resource that you're looking
at, there's a wide variety of patterns I've seen for this constellation. So I often just refer
to the official star pattern by the International Astronomical Union. The way I kind of point
out this shape is looking for this area right here. I kind of know this is like the center
of his kind of chest area as well. Then, I also view this star cluster- here, this down here,
is the pleiades. Let's keep getting some more practice. So this is a similar picture we're seeing.
Some similar objects, maybe not everything, but close to it. There's also the bright star Capella
as well, which is part of the constellation Auriga. So, which objects can you point out? Here is Capella,
here's the Pleiades, and then here's one of those star clusters we mentioned.
Then, here is another one. This is the double cluster that's pretty easy to point out. Then
these stars over here are Cassiopeia. Notice you can use this portion of Cassiopeia to kind of
aim you right towards Perseus. So if we were to point out Perseus, this is what his pattern
looks like in the sky. Kind of almost looks like a starfish to me in some ways. The
other constellations we have are marked here. We have Cassiopeia, also Andromeda is located
right here, here's where the Andromeda Galaxy is. This is the most distant object you
can see with the naked eye. Then here we have our pattern of Perseus, Capella, and the Pleiades.
In our next picture we can see how we can use Cassiopeia to help us find different
objects in the sky, including Perseus. Cassiopeia is located towards the center
upper part of this photograph. It has a w shape to it so. So here we can see this is where Cassiopeia is,
right there. This part of the w shape points down towards the Andromeda Galaxy.
Then we have the Andromeda constellation here. We can also use this portion. We can go
from the center star, work our way outwards, and then we can find Perseus. Now most of Perseus is
pictured here, but not all of him. Here's that double star cluster and then here's another star cluster
as well. So remember we can use this portion to help us point out the Andromeda Galaxy.
The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest spiral galaxy to us at about 2 million light years away. You
can see it with the unaided eye. If we were to point out all the other constellations here,
this is what we have. So; Cassiopeia points down to Andromeda; Andromeda is connected to Pegasus, and
only a portion of Pegasus is what we're seeing here; and then Cassiopeia can point to Perseus.
Also notice Triangulum a very simple constellation pattern. Then Aries is down here as well. This
time we're not able to see the Pleiades in this photograph, so you have to use other constellations
to help you find your way towards Perseus. It's really these star clusters right here that I
use to help me find the rest of the constellation. Let's examine some of the legends behind Perseus.
It is often the stories of the stars that we can connect to in some way which can help us remember
the constellation. The earliest records we have of Perseus date back to the Babylonian star catalogs.
Perseus was known as 'The Old One.' Here are some translations in Sumerian
and Acadian as to what Perseus represented. The Babylonian star catalogs were really important
for the timing of agricultural activities. It was a catalog of 71 different stars and constellations.
Many of the sky patterns that were listed in this catalog were the predecessors
of the Zodiac constellations and the modern day constellations we see today. They also had pairs of
constellations that rose and set together a path of the moon and planets and also a solar calendar.
Perseus also makes an appearance in the Persian manuscript known as the Book of Fixed Stars.
It was written by Al Sufi who was a Persian astronomer.
He combined the astronomy knowledge that was recorded by Ptolemy in the second century and
he recorded indigenous Arabic knowledge of the sky, along with it in Greek mythology. There are
a wide variety of legends about Perseus. Many of them are most likely derived from earlier Egyptian,
African, and Arabic cultures. In this particular story, Perseus is connected to Andromeda and her
family: Queen Cassiopeia, who is the wife of Cepheus, boasted of her beauty. This angered the sea nymphs
so Poseidon sent Cetus, a sea monster, to destroy the kingdom. Their daughter, Andromeda, was offered
as a sacrifice to the monster in order to save the kingdom. Perseus heard her cries as she was
chained to the rock and he came to save her from certain doom. In this painting called 'The
Rescuing of Andromeda,' we can see all the characters in this story. We have Perseus,
Andromeda right here, we have Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, we have Cetus the Sea Monster, and also
the head of Medusa which Perseus is often known for slaying. All these characters can be found
in the sky through the stars. There are a wide variety of other legends about Perseus
being the son of Zeus and Danae. Then, we also know of the different legends of Perseus slaying Medusa.
I won't go into the details of these legends, because there are so many versions
of them. But, you can see Medusa, right here. I wanted to point this out simply because there's
a portion of Perseus in which one star is kind of represented as the demon's head.
Remember all mythologies of the stars vary according to time, place, and culture. There is
no one true mythology for any constellation, just a variety of them. We've come to the end of our
video about Perseus the Greek Hero. So let's review everything we've learned so far. It's best seen in
autumn and winter months. It's classified as a seasonal constellation. There are many
ways to find Perseus. You can use Cassiopeia and Andromeda. You can also look for the star clusters
such as Pleiades to help you find your way, or you can also simply look at the star clusters
that are located within Perseus. There are many celestial objects including the double cluster,
the Alpha Persei Cluster, there's different nebulae, galaxies, a wide range of objects that can be seen.
Some of them you don't need magnification to see, like this particular star cluster right here.
But others you definitely would need either binoculars or telescope to see.
So I wish you luck finding Perseus. I think it's one of the trickier ones to find simply because
its star pattern isn't always obvious. Iv'e always struggled to find this particular
constellation because of the wide variety of patterns that I've seen in different resources,
but if you can look for the star clusters that are a part of Perseus, I think you'll be able
to find it. Remember practice makes perfect and it takes time and patience in order to learn the sky and
identify the star patterns and celestial objects that are located
in the boundaries of constellations. I wish you luck and keep looking up!