At midnight tonight I spotted the season's reigning royal hanging boldly in the sky. Made of five bright stars, her angles carve out a crown of heavenly proportions.
To Spot Her:
Face NE, 2oclock, look for the #3.
Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Cassiopeia is a constellation named for the Greek Queen, mother of Andromeda and Wife of Cepheus. This family caused a lot of drama and were immortalized in star-form as befitting their celebrity.
Banished from Earth by the Olypmian Gods and hung upside down for her insolence, Cassiopeia still holds an elegant beauty. And, she lights the way for more amazing star finds. If the crown is a 3, there are two peaks. The 1st top peak points directly to the Andromeda Galaxy-M31-nesseled right at the heart of the princess constellation. This galaxy can be seen in very dark environments. It is the closest neighbor galaxy and it getting closer. Scientists estimate our Milky Way galaxy will collide with Andromeda in the next 2 billion years. With a telescope, you can easily find evidence of Andromeda's collision history. The wreckage-M32-fell into the orbital spin of the monster cluster. The sight is at once violent and peaceful.
The bottom, shorter peak of Cassiopeia's 3 opens like > to reveal the King of the earthbound sky, Polaris. The North Star. Sitting spot on the magnetic north pole of our celestial sphere. For now, in our precious experience, this star is the ultimate GPS unit. But in 13,000 years, forget it. We will have spun off center of his position and approach the lyre and its Vega. Funny wonderful coincedence.
This is my favorite time of year for stargazing. There is something about this season that pulls at my heart strings just right. And its always amazing to share that moment with fellow dreamers, if only in silent oblivion.Thanks for reading, keep looking up!
**GoogleSky App is the coolest tool you will ever find for stargazing. A PC version is available. Astronomy Today is a great resource for celestial data and DomeoftheSky rocks for mythology.**
