Consternation in a Constellation: Mythology in the Colorado night sky
The sun gets all the attention in Colorado, ut now that the intense heat of summer has passed, check out our night sky’s autumnal offerings. One of our favorite constellations involves a sweet little tale of (attempted) human sacrifice, a sea monster, and vengeful nymphs with damaged egos. Turn your head skyward and behold the story of Andromeda.
Coordinates: 00h 42.44m 30s, +41° 16′ 10″
Andromeda was a princess in Greek mythology who was forced to wear some ugly metal bracelets and was almost sacrificed because of her mom’s big mouth. (Who hasn’t been there, right?)
Her parents were King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia. Cassiopeia liked to brag about her daughter’s looks, which wasn’t a big deal until she made the mistake of claiming Andromeda’s beauty surpassed that of the Nereids — 50 sea nymphs whose hotness was notorious and, apparently, not to be outdone. The Nereids complained to the sea god Poseidon, and all watery hell broke loose for Andromeda. Poseidon sent Cetus the sea monster to destroy all of Ethiopia. To stop Cetus and pacify Poseidon, Cepheus and Cassiopeia tried to sacrifice Andromeda by chaining her to a rock near the ocean and waiting for the monster to eat her. The hero Perseus, a busy guy who had just killed the serpent-haired Gorgon Medusa, rescued Andromeda and married her. (Wonder if her folks were invited to the wedding. Omg, awkward!)
Andromeda’s constellation — also known as Persea (wife of Perseus), Aerope (daughter of Cepheus), or the Chained Maiden — is most easily visible in the fall. She shares the sky with other characters from the myth of Perseus, including her parents, Perseus himself, and Perseus’ winged horse Pegasus. Cetus, one of the largest constellations, is further south than the others, so it’s not fully visible from our latitude. If you have some binoculars handy, look at the Andromeda constellation a little closer and you’ll be able to view the closest galaxy to our Milky Way, which is also named after the Chained Maiden.
These constellations don’t really look like the characters they represent, so it takes a little imagination to perceive them as line drawings of people (and a flying horse), but if you’re only up for some what-you-see-is-what-you-get stargazing, the Big Dipper and Little Dipper are visible in the fall, too.
