Northeast late evening: Cassiopeia and Perseus
Discuss Print Me Email to FriendTonight is Wednesday, Sep 03 2008
At this time of year, if you’re in the northern hemisphere, try looking northeast in late evening for two prominent constellations.
The easiest to see will be Cassiopeia, which has a distinctive M or W shape, depending on what time of night you see it. This constellation represents a Queen in ancient mythology. Cassiopeia is easy to identify and so is one of the most famous constellations in the sky. You’ll see it in the northeast late tonight, and earlier in the evening in the months to come.
Perseus (the Hero) follows Cassiopeia across the night sky. In other words, as night passes, you’ll see them both ascending in the northeast — then arcing high in the north — then descending in the northwest — with Perseus following Cassiopeia all the while. Perseus is fainter than Cassiopeia and its stars are not so easy to identify. But if you have a dark sky, you’ll spot its graceful shape.
Both Perseus and Cassiopeia are considered to be “circumpolar” from northerly latitudes. In other words, as seen from northern parts of the U.S. and Canada, they never set below the horizon, but instead circle endlessly around Polaris, the North Star. Tomorrow – close-up on stars in Perseus.
