EXPLANATION OF THE CONSTELLATION DATA
1. Latin Name of Constellation- All 88 constellations are given Latin names since it is considered the universal language. The 12 zodiac constellations are listed along with the date when the sun is in that constellation and their numeric order in the zodiac. For example, Aries, the first of the zodiac constellations, has the Sun in it between April 19 to May 15 and in the future these dates will advance with time due to the precession of the Earth.
2. The English name is given to distinguish an actual form or mere resemblance with the associated star pattern.
3. In the pronunciation, capital letters indicate where the accent should be placed in the pronunciation of the name. Reference #17 was the most widely used reference.
4. The date of culmination is the date when the
constellation will be highest in the sky on the meridian at 9 PM Eastern
Standard Time. If you are on daylight
saving time, the date given will correspond to the time
5. The constellation should be visible during the dates listed at 9 PM Eastern standard time or 10 P.M. daylight saving time, but will be best observed on the date of culmination (date listed in #4) as it will be higher in the sky. Remember the closer a constellation is to the zenith the smaller the amount of atmosphere and haze you have to gaze through to see the constellation.
6. Constellation star counts by magnitude- a constellation near or viewed against the cross sectional view of the Milky Way Galaxy has a higher star density and larger number of stars. Generally, you will be interested in the stars of fourth magnitude or brighter, or second magnitude or brighter. In areas with streetlights, during times of the gibbous moon and full moon or hazy conditions, stars of third magnitude or brighter (lower numbers) are the only visible stars.
7. The constellation diagrams can vary considerably. The diagram given is only a suggested version. Even astronomers have their own personal idea of how the stars should be connected. The teacher shouldn’t try to convert the student to one particular constellation diagram, but should make it clear to the student that the image is far different than the diagrams shown for the constellations. The diagrams are not to scale, relative to other constellations. See category #13 for the size and rank of constellations. The use of Greek letters is explained in number eight.
8. The alpha star in a constellation is generally the brightest star. However, don’t assume this is always the case since Bayer sometimes picked the alpha star because of position (and some are apparently mistakes) as some stars of near equal brightness were ranked incorrectly. See the alpha star of Corvus, Hydra, Sagittarius, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor for examples.
It was soon learned that not all stars have proper names; only the brighter stars were given names by the ancient observers. The most convenient and widely used system for identifying stars visible to the naked eye was devised by Bayer in 1603. This system designates the brighter stars in a constellation with letters of the Greek alphabet: a, b, g, d, etc. Generally, the letters are assigned in descending order of brightness, with alpha denoting the star of greatest brightness in the constellation. Ranking refers to the star's place in the order of brightness among visible stars. Ranking comes from data listed in Hipparcos chart. (Reference #18)
9. The brighter stars of the constellation are given with name, meaning of name, pronunciation, distance, magnitude, and other interesting information, for example, if it is a double or binary star.
10. The description of the shape of the constellation provides you with its real appearance for viewing. Example: Leo looks like a backward "?" mark, instead of the shape of a lion.
11. Alignments help the observer know where to look in the sky and generally include alignments of the brighter stellar objects.
12. Location The relation of neighboring constellations to a star illustrates its location that will become more meaningful as you learn more constellations.
13. The size of the constellation is rounded off to the nearest whole degree and provides its rank in size among the 88 constellations.
14. The following information will help you locate the star in the sky, as latitude and longitude locates one on earth. Your grasping the following specific information will be helpful but seldom used and is included for those with a more in depth interest in astronomy.
Ecliptic is the apparent
path the sun follows across the sky during the year, and is within 7° of the
path taken by the moon and all the observable planets. It is the apparent path, as it is really the
motion of the earth in its orbit that causes this apparent motion of the
Sun. The zodiac constellations lie along
the ecliptic thus can help one locate planets.
All the observable planets orbit the sun in nearly a flat plane, thus
the reason they all seem to follow the ecliptic. (Exceptions are Mercury (7°)
and Pluto (17.2°).)
Celestial equator is the imaginary projection of the earth’s equator into the sky.
Celestial longitude is longitude measured in degrees east along the ecliptic from the
vernal equinox.
Vernal equinox is the intersection point of the ecliptic and the celestial equator
that the sun passes on its way above or to the north of the celestial equator.
Now we can define right
ascension and declination. Right
ascension is the angle of a celestial object east of the vernal equinox, along
the celestial equator, and is measured in hours, minutes and seconds. If you determine sidereal time and it is 5
hrs. 30 minutes, it means Orion is at culmination on the meridian as its right
ascension is between 4 hours 41 minutes and 6 hours 23 minutes.
Declination is the celestial coordinate analogous to latitude and is used in
astronomy to measure the number of degrees, minutes and seconds of arc north
(+) or south (-) of the celestial equator.
Stars with a declination of -51° or more cannot be seen in
15. Mythology- This book summarizes the more popular Greek mythological stories associated with the constellation. There are many other references, but Mythology by Edith Hamilton may be most helpful.
16. Remarks- This section is left for interesting comments about the different constellations and additional information.
ANDROMEDA
1. LATIN NAME OF CONSTELLATION -------------- Andromeda
2. ENGLISH NAME OF CONSTELLATION ------------ The Chained Lady
3. PRONUNCIATION OF CONSTELLATION ----------- Ann - DROM - eh - da
4. DATE OF
CULMINATION ON
5. APPROXIMATE
TIME VISIBLE AT
6. NUMBER OF STARS 6 MAGNITUDE OR BRIGHTER ------- 100 (Ref. 5, p. 236)
NUMBER OF STARS 5 MAGNITUDE OR BRIGHTER ------- 25 (Ref. 8, p. 177)
NUMBER OF STARS 4 MAGNITUDE OR BRIGHTER ------- 7 (Ref. 8, p. 177)
NUMBER OF STARS 2 MAGNITUDE OR BRIGHTER ------- 0 (Ref. 8, p. 177)
STAR DENSITY 5 MAGNITUDE OR BRIGHTER PER 100 SQ.° --- 9.19 (Ref. 8, p.
177)
7. DIAGRAM OF CONSTELLATION
8. ALPHA STAR OF CONSTELLATION- a Alpheratz (Al - FEE - rats) "horse’s navel" (see Pegasus constellation) is the head star of Andromeda. Magnitude: + 2.07 Ranking: 55 Distance: 33.6 light years Spectrum Class: A0 Flamsteed: # 21 Hipparcos: #677 (Ref.18) (Ref.19) Alpheratz is a blue-white star, a spectroscopic binary and approximately 100 times brighter than our sun. This star as indicated by its Arabic name was meant to be a part of the constellation Pegasus but it is now within the boundary of Andromeda. (Ref. 15, p. 421)
9. OTHER MAJOR STARS OF CONSTELLATION- (Ref. 2, p. 112)
Beta b Mirach (MY - rack) "the loins" (Ref.15, p. 5) Magnitude: +2.07 Ranking: 57 Distance: 199.3 light years Spectrum Class: MO Flamsteed: # 43 Hipparcos: #5447 (Ref.18) (Ref.19)
Gamma g Almak (
10. SHAPE OF THE CONSTELLATION- Crooked thin "V" shape that converges into the star Alpheratz. The upper line has four dim stars; the lower line has four corresponding brighter stars.
11. HELPFUL ALIGNMENTS- Find the
12. LOCATION IN THE SKY- It is south of the constellations of Perseus and Cassiopeia and north of Triangulum and Pisces. Andromeda is to the east of Pegasus and Lacerta and to the west of Perseus and Triangulum.
13.
SIZE IN SQUARE DEGREES = 722°
RANK IN SIZE OF 88 =
19th
(Ref. 2, p. 70) (Ref. 2,
p. 70)
14. APPROXIMATE BOUNDARIES BY COORDINATES (Ref. 5, p. 236)
HOURS RIGHT ASCENSION 22 HOURS, 56 MINUTES TO 02 HOURS, 36
MINUTES
DEGREES OF DECLINATION +21.4° TO +52.9°
15. MYTHOLOGY- Andromeda is the
princess, or daughter of Queen Cassiopeia and King Cepheus. Her mother enraged the sea nymphs by boasting
of her beauty.
16. REMARKS- Alpheratz is a star borrowed by Pegasus in order to create the distinctive "square." On November14th each year, the Andromedids or Bielids radiate from a point near Almak. The Andromeda Galaxy appears near the 3rd star. Starting with Alpheratz as one, count up the right side of the "V". The Galaxy is a hazy spot rated as a 4.8 magnitude object. See the triangle on the constellation diagram on p. 18, # 7. Andromeda has been observed as far back in history as A.D. 905, with a distance of 2.1 million light years. Astronomers know Andromeda as M31 that resembles a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way Galaxy. (Ref. 2, p. 112)