images

Constellation of Cassiopeia

by

A.Fujii/David Malin Images/Novapix

Reference

a-cst14-00006

Date

2008-11-01

Cassiopeia, was seen in mythology as the seated Queen of Ethiopia (not to be confused with the modern Æthiopia). She was the wife of Cepheus and the mother of Andromeda, beautiful but boastful. The grouping of moderately bright stars has a distinctive 'W' shape and lies in a rather faint part of the northern Milky Way. It is circumpolar for latitudes north of 50°. Occupying almost 500 square degrees of sky it is the 25th largest of the 88 modern constellations.