Cepheus is a northern sky constellation named after Cepheus, a Greek mythological monarch of Aethiopia.
Cepheus was one of the forty-eight constellations named by Claudius Ptolemy in the second century, and it is still one of the eighty-eight constellations today. Alpha Cephei, the brightest star in the constellation, has an apparent magnitude of 2.5. Delta Cephei is the prototypical Cepheid variable, which is a type of star. RW Cephei, an orange hypergiant, is among the biggest stars known, along with the red supergiants Mu Cephei, MY Cephei, SW Cephei, VV Cephei, and V354 Cephei. Cepheus also contains the hyperluminous quasar S5 0014+81, which contains an ultra-massive black hole in its core estimated to be forty billion solar masses, or 10,000 times more massive than the Milky Way's central black hole, making it one of the most massive black holes known. (Ghisellini et al., 2009) |
Mythology
Cepheus was the grandfather and grandson of two Aethiopian rulers in Greek mythology. Cepheus, the better-known Cepheus, is Agenor's son and the grandson of the other Cepheus. He was married to Cassiopeia and had a beautiful daughter named Andromeda with her. His wife displayed arrogance by saying that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the Nereids, the daughters of the sea god Nereus. This enraged the god Poseidon, who either flooded Aethiopia's lands or sent a dreadful sea creature named Cetus to ruin the region's shores. Cepheus and Cassiopeia sought advice from an oracle, who instructed them to sacrifice their daughter to Cetus to please the god.
The stars of the constellation Cepheus can be found in two places in Chinese astronomy: the Purple Forbidden Enclosure (紫微垣, Zǐ Wēi Yuán) and the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ).
Cepheus was the grandfather and grandson of two Aethiopian rulers in Greek mythology. Cepheus, the better-known Cepheus, is Agenor's son and the grandson of the other Cepheus. He was married to Cassiopeia and had a beautiful daughter named Andromeda with her. His wife displayed arrogance by saying that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the Nereids, the daughters of the sea god Nereus. This enraged the god Poseidon, who either flooded Aethiopia's lands or sent a dreadful sea creature named Cetus to ruin the region's shores. Cepheus and Cassiopeia sought advice from an oracle, who instructed them to sacrifice their daughter to Cetus to please the god.
The stars of the constellation Cepheus can be found in two places in Chinese astronomy: the Purple Forbidden Enclosure (紫微垣, Zǐ Wēi Yuán) and the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ).
Visualizations
Cepheus is usually pictured raising his arms aloft, pleading with the gods to save Andromeda's life. On his throne, he is also shown as a more royal monarch. (Staal 1988) (Pictured above)
Cepheus is usually pictured raising his arms aloft, pleading with the gods to save Andromeda's life. On his throne, he is also shown as a more royal monarch. (Staal 1988) (Pictured above)
Main Stars – 7
Bayer stars – 43
Stars with planets – 1
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.0 – 1
Stars closer than 32ly – 3
Bordering
constellations
Bayer stars – 43
Stars with planets – 1
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.0 – 1
Stars closer than 32ly – 3
Bordering
constellations
- Cygnus
- Lacerta
- Cassiopeia
- Camelopardalis
- Draco
- Ursa Minor