According to ancient legends, most of the constellations known to us are immortalized events of the distant past. Powerful gods placed heroes and various creatures in the sky in memory of their accomplishments, and sometimes as a punishment for misconduct. Often in this way eternal life was bestowed. The constellation Andromeda is one of these celestial drawings. It is famous, however, not only for its legend: its territory hosts the famous neighbor of the Milky Way and several other interesting space objects.
Mythological plot
Andromeda in ancient Greek legends was the daughter of the king of Ethiopia Cepheus (Cepheus) and his wife Cassiopeia. There are several versions of the legend associated with the constellation. According to one of them, the beautiful Andromeda was so pretty that the Nereid sea maidens envied her. They suffered and withered before our eyes. Poseidon decided to rectify the situation by sending a terrible monster to Ethiopia. It is everyoneday came ashore and destroyed the villages, killed the inhabitants. Kefey turned to the Oracle for advice and learned that in order to end the disaster, you need to give the monster Andromeda. The saddened parents nevertheless chained their daughter to a rock and left it until the monster arrived. However, the tragedy did not happen: Perseus arrived in time to help the beauty, flying by and falling in love with Andromeda at first sight. He defeated the monster with the head of Medusa Gorgon and married a beautiful maiden. Since then, this constellation has existed. Perseus and Andromeda now shine in the heavens. The gods also immortalized Cassiopeia, Cepheus and even a sea monster in the vast expanses of space.
Location
The constellation Andromeda has a well-recognized form: three chains of stars, diverging from one point. This celestial pattern occupies a vast area and is one of the largest in both hemispheres. The brightest star in the constellation Andromeda, the one from which the chains begin, is located on the border with the image of Pegasus. Until the 17th century, the luminary was considered to belong to both celestial drawings. This star is the northern corner of Pegasus Grand Square.
Andromeda can be admired throughout the vast territory of Russia. In summer and September, it is located on the eastern side of the sky, and in late autumn and early winter - in its southern part.
Alpha
The brightest point of this celestial pattern is Alferatz (alpha Andromeda). Finally, it was fixed in the composition of the describedconstellations in 1928. Ptolemy's Alpheratz belonged to Pegasus. The name itself testifies to the history of the luminary: it means “navel of a horse” in Arabic.
Alferatz is a blue-white subgiant that emits 200 times more light than the Sun. In addition, it is the main component of the binary system. His companion shines 10 times less.
Alferatz A is one of the brightest representatives of an unusual class of mercury-manganese stars. The high concentration of metals in the atmosphere of the type name is explained by the difference in the effect of the luminary's gravity and its internal pressure on various chemical elements.
Alferatz also refers to variable stars. Luster range - from +2, 02 m to +2, 06 m. Changes occur with a period of 23, 19 hours.
Nebula
The constellation Andromeda is known to many not because of the impressive size or beauty of the stars, but because of the M31 galaxy located on its territory. The famous neighbor of the Milky Way is one of the few such objects that can be seen with the naked eye. The Andromeda Nebula is located slightly above the star Mirach (beta Andromeda). In order to view the structure of the galaxy, you will need at least binoculars.
The Andromeda Nebula is more than twice the size of the Milky Way and contains about 1 trillion stars. Two satellites are also located next to it: the galaxies M32 and NGC 205. The distance from the Sun is up to threeobjects exceed 2 million light years.
Supernova
The constellation Andromeda became the object of observation of many astronomers in 1885. Then it was lit up by a flash of a supernova. It became the first such object found outside the Milky Way. Supernova S Andromeda is located in the galaxy of the same name and is still the only such cosmic body in it. The luminary reached its maximum brightness on August 21-22, 1885 (it amounted to 5.85 m). Six months later, it decreased to a value of 14 m.
Today, S Andromedae is classified as a Type Ia supernova, although its orange color and light curve do not match the accepted description of such objects.
The constellation Andromeda, photos of the objects that make it up, the image of the neighboring galaxy quite often flash in the media. And this is not surprising: the vast space occupied by the celestial pattern can tell a lot about the laws of the cosmos and the relationship of its individual parts. Many telescopes are aimed here in the hope of obtaining new information about distant objects.
