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Long ago, in the land of Ethiopia, there reigned a King Cepheus, and his Queen Cassiopeia. They had a daughter, the Princess Andromeda, who was exceedingly beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that her mother, the Queen, couldn't help but be proud, as any mother would, and even occasionally boast a little about it. On one occasion, she went so far as to proclaim that her daughter was even more beautiful than the nymphs of the sea.
But the Queen had forgotten how jealous and spiteful nymphs were. When they heard of the Queen's proclamation, they immediately went to their master, Neptune, lord of the sea, crying out for retribution. The great god Neptune, although second in power and authority only to Jupiter himself, could never say no to his nymphs. Their powers of persuasion over men, be they gods or mortals, were impossible to resist.
So Neptune sent the sea monster Cetus to wreak vengeance upon the boastful Queen and the lands she governed. Cetus ravaged the shores of Ethiopia, spreading death and destruction along the entire coastline of the kingdom. A desperate King Cepheus consulted an oracle, and was told the only way to stop the monster's rampage was to deliver up his precious daughter, Andromeda, for Cetus to tear apart, and devour.
So, Cepheus and Cassiopeia, in order to save their kingdom, were forced to make the ultimate sacrifice, and give up their daughter to the horrors of the beast. Andromeda was chained to the rocks by the sea, and left for Cetus. Before long the monster was seen in the distance, looming larger and larger, heading straight for the innocent young girl, naked and helpless on the rocks.
The monster slowly approached the young Andromeda, crying and squirming frantically against her bonds. He opened his massive maw, lined with dagger-like teeth, and descended upon her, when suddenly a figure came diving out of the sky, swooping in between the monster and its prey. It was the hero Perseus! Mounted on the great winged horse, Pegasus, he was just returning from a battle with the evil Medusa, when he heard Andromeda's cries. He pulled Medusa's severed head out of his satchel, a head so hideous that all who looked upon it were instantly turned to stone. When the sea monster saw the head, covered with writhing snakes, it too turned to stone, and was no more.
When Perseus turned around and saw the beautiful Andromeda, he immediately fell in love with her, and carried her off to be his bride. Needless to say, the joy and celebration in the kingdom of Ethiopia knew no bounds, and the figures of the Andromeda story were placed in the sky, as an eternal reminder of the dangers of mortal arrogance.
Of all the tales in the night sky, the Andromeda story contains the most constellations. No less than six figures are up in the sky to remind us of our mortality, and our place in the universe. When the Autumn chill is in the air, the Andromeda story is centre stage, filling the fall sky. In late September, look to the east about 10:00 PM. You will see Cetus lurking in the shallows, just above the horizon. Halfway up the sky looms the great square of Pegasus, with the willowy limbs of Andromeda trailing off to the left. Following Andromeda, square in the middle of the Milky Way, is the unmistakable "W" shape of Queen Cassiopeia. Just below the Queen, also in the middle of the Milky Way, is the hero Perseus. High overhead sits the figure of King Cepheus, complete with crown, finishing the tale, and bringing the sky alive with high adventure, and romance.
The alpha star in the constellation of Andromeda is Alpheratz, which means navel of the horse, noting that the constellation Pegasus, the winged horse, borrows the star from Andromeda to complete the Great Square of Pegasus. Alpheratz has a magnitude of 2.06, and is 120 light years away, making about 160 times brighter than our Sun.
Mirach is a red giant star. It has a magnitude of 2.03, is 75 light years away, and 75 times brighter than our Sun.
Almach is a binary star system that can be observed in a small telescope, with one of the pair appearing orange, and the other blue. The system is 260 light years away.
The constellation of Andromeda contains the spectacular Andromeda galaxy (M31), the only galaxy close enough to be visible with the naked eye. Close, however, may not be the proper word, because the galaxy lies out at the incomprehensible distance of two and a half million light years, making it the most distant object visible to the naked eye.
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