What is Cassiopeia?

Cassiopeia is a group of stars that looks like a W or an M in the sky. Ancient people thought it looked like a chair or a woman in a chair. Cassiopeia is near Polaris, the North Star. In the northern part of the world it can be seen on most nights of the year.

Cassiopeia is a group of stars that looks like a W or an M in the sky. Ancient people thought it looked like a chair or a woman in a chair. Cassiopeia is near Polaris, the North Star. In the northern part of the world it can be seen on most nights of the year.

Cassiopeia was the name of the wife of Cepheus who was king of Ethiopia. They had a daughter named Andromeda. The three members of this royal family are all immortalized in constellations. Cassiopeia was a very beautiful woman. She was also vain. She boasted that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. The sea nymphs were insulted and they complained to the god of the sea, Neptune. Neptune decided to punish Cassiopeia by having a terrible monster attack the coast of Ethiopia. Cepheus went to the oracle of Jupiter to find out how to get rid of the monster. The oracle told him that he would have to sacrifice his daughter Andromeda to the monster. Cepheus chained Andromeda to the monster. Cepheus chained Andromeda to a rock along the chore for the monster. Andromeda was saved by Perseus who is also immortalized in a constellation.

Some legends say that sea nymphs were angry when Cassiopeia was given a place in the sky. They asked Jupiter to arrange it so that she would hang upside down part of the night.