CEPHEUS THE KING

Whereas the stars for Queen Cassiopeia are bright and beautiful, her husband’s constellation is dim and dull. Cepheus the King is a tough constellation to find if you live in a city, but if you look carefully you just may discover these royal stars.

You can find Cepheus tonight high in the northern sky just to the left of Cassiopeia. His dimmer stars look like an upside-down house.

Once upon a time in ancient Ethiopia… Cepheus the King was enjoying a quiet afternoon nap when the great god of the sea, Poseidon strode in to the castle. In a rage Poseidon said, "King Cepheus! Your wife's vanity has gone too far. She has offended the gods and must be punished."

The King, waking up quickly, stammered, “Wha… what did she do?”

“What did she do?” great Poseidon exclaimed. “Get this. Queen Cassiopeia said, in front of everyone, that she was more beautiful than all the mermaids in the ocean. My mermaids! Hah, don’t make me laugh.” Cepheus laughed nervously. “That old hag can’t hold a candle to my mermaids,” Poseidon continued. “She must be punished.”

Cepheus begged for mercy and even declared that he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if anything happened to Cassiopeia. “I would miss her sweet voice,” the King said. This was a total lie since the Queen, although beautiful, had a voice like a ban-saw.

"Being a fair and angry god," Poseidon considered, "I will have you share in her misery. I banish you both to the skies where you will endlessly circle the pole star. And there you will forever hear her, um, sweet voice. Ha ha ha ha! (menacing god-like laugh).”

And there the couple spins. High in the sky the King is not far from his Queen and he forever hears her sweet voice say, “Oh no, I’m going upside down again. Aaaaah, Cepheus, you stupid, little stickin’…!”

CASSIOPEIA THE QUEEN

(This is the short version of the Greek legend.  For the longer version, see Get Ready for the Huge, Fall Sky Saga posted 10/13/11 on this blog)

Cassiopeia was thought to be the Queen of Ethiopia (or the kingdom around Northeast Africa). She had a bad habit of bragging about her beauty. She believed that she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world - the most beautiful woman who ever lived - and the most beautiful woman that would ever live. And she told people these views about every twenty seconds. Like if you visited the palace and rung the doorbell, Cassiopeia would answer and sing-song, “Come on in, I’m so beautiful. Come in, I’m beautiful…” And if you’re with her at the dinner table she’d ask politely, “Can you please pass the salt? I’m beautiful over here.” Her subjects grew weary of this but what could they do? After all, she was the Queen.

One day, the Queen went too far. She proclaimed that she was more beautiful than all the mermaids in the sea, put together... Now this is no big deal to you and me, but to the god of the seas, Poseidon, this was the ultimate outrage. "My mermaids are more beautiful than that ugly old hag," his trident cleaner overheard him say. So Poseidon punished this boastful Queen by placing her up in the sky to sit on her throne. 

Wait a second, that sounds like a great honor! 

The trick Poseidon played was that he placed her near the Pole Star.  As the night rolls on, the stars move slowly around Polaris.  Poor Cassiopeia makes this circle too and spends half the night upside-down, clinging to that throne for dear life.  And so here is the punishment - her ultimate hell - can you be upside-down and beautiful at the same time? 

Cassiopeia is one of the easiest constellations to recognize in the sky.  You can find her 5 moderately-bright stars making an "M" shape in the northern sky after sunset.  I know this looks nothing like a Queen sitting on her throne, but I usually think of these 5 stars as her crown.  Since one of the stars is a little off line, I always think her crown must be bent from when she hits her head on the ground every time she circles Polaris.   
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COMA BERENICES - Berenice's Hair

So what is the deal with the Mop of Hair that was in the picture next to Bootes (see post from May 7)??? That's Berenice's Hair, a small, faint constellation visible in the spring and summer from really dark skies.

In Greek mythology Berenice was the beautiful Queen of Egypt known for her flowing tresses. When her husband went off to war, Berenice asked Aphrodite to protect her beloved in battle. In return, if he returned to her safely, she would cut off her long hair as a gift to the goddess. When the king returned unharmed to her side, Berenice stayed true to her word and lopped it all off. The hair was placed in the temple where it mysteriously disappeared. What cur took the Queen's beautiful hair? Who dared?

Heads were going to roll (not to mention hair), if the culprit was found. Luckily a court astronomer came to the rescue - he found the missing locks. The hair was such a pleasing sacrifice to Aphrodite that SHE took it and placed it in the sky for all to see. So now the glory a Berenice's hair has reached new heights and lives on in the stars.

You can best find this constellation in a very dark sky.  If you're far from city lights you can't miss the tangles of stars just to the right of Bootes and above Virgo.  Binoculars help too.  Scan the sky to the right of the bright star Arcturus and you should see a mass of stars.  Lots of locks!

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Cassiopeia the Queen

While Perseus was busy chopping off the head of Medusa a beautiful Queen was getting herself and her nation in big, big trouble.

Cassiopeia was thought to be the Queen of Ethiopia (or the kingdom around North-east Africa). She had a bad habit of bragging about her beauty. She believed that she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world - the most beautiful woman who ever lived - and the most beautiful woman that would ever live. And she told people these views about every twenty seconds.

Well one day, the Queen went too far. She proclaimed that she was more beautiful than all of the mermaids in the sea. Now this is no big deal to you and me, but to the god of the seas, Poseidon, this was the ultimate outrage. "My mermaids are more beautiful than that ugly old hag," he said. So Poseidon went to the palace to confront this boastful Queen.

To be continued...

Cassiopeia can be found high in the north-northeastern sky after sunset. Just look for 5 stars in the shape of a squished letter "M". Who's more beautiful?

Who is prettier???

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