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Andromeda is a constellation that can be seen in the northern hemisphere of our planet. It has in its arsenal three stars with a second magnitude. The constellation has a characteristic pattern that is created by the stars included in it. The chain of these luminaries stretches from the northeast towards the southwest.
The constellation Andromeda is very clearly visible throughout Russia. You can watch it almost all night, because the constellation is located high in the sky. It is best to watch it in October and November, but you can start from September.
Finding the constellation Andromeda itself is not difficult. First of all, you need to find the Great Square of Pegasus. In the northeast corner of this square is a star called Alferatz. It is this luminary that is the beginning of Andromeda. The constellation occupies approximately 722 square degrees in the sky.
Where is M31 located
On a moonless, dark and cloudless night, about 160 stars can be observed in the constellation with the naked eye. These are luminaries that have a brightness of up to 6.5 magnitudes.
Overview of the Andromeda Nebula Galaxy or M31
Among all the objects in the constellation, you can see the most remarkable - the spiral galaxy or M31.
Andromeda Galaxy or M31 in the UV range
The galaxy M31 was seen by astronomers as early as the 10th century, but its true nature was only revealed in the 19th, with the advent of powerful telescopes. There are also variables in Andromeda, star clusters, planetary nebulae, dwarf galaxies and other interesting objects.
What does M31 look like through a telescope?
Stars
Almak is a system that consists of three objects. The main one is a yellow star, which has a brilliance of the second magnitude. There are two satellites around it: blue stars are physically connected.
Alferatz - has a brilliance of 2.1 magnitude. Refers to navigation (like Almak). Focusing on them, the ancient sailors found their way home.
R Andromedae is a variable star. It has a brightness change amplitude of nine magnitudes.
υ Andromedae is a main sequence star that astronomers have discovered a planetary system in. Planet b - similar to Jupiter. The other two are eccentric giants.
galaxies
The Andromeda Nebula is the most famous galaxy. Observed by a Persian astronomer as early as the 10th century. It has satellites - the small galaxies M32 and NGC 205.
Dwarf elliptical galaxy M32, satellite of the Andromeda galaxy
The nebula is easy to see on a moonless night with the naked eye. It has a diameter of approximately 220 thousand light years. It contains over 300 billion stars. This nearest spiral galaxy is removed from us at a distance of 2.2 million light years. Within the nebula itself, there are many globular clusters. Beginning with M32, systematic observation of galaxies began. Of particular importance in these observations was the Hubble telescope.
NGC 891 is the most impressive galaxy. It is located edge to us and looks very beautiful.
Telescope view of NGC 891
In addition to galaxies, there is planetary nebula called NGC 7662 and a star with exoplanet WASP-1.
Collision of the Milky Way and M31
At the moment, the two largest galaxies, the so-called local cluster, are ours and M31. We are moving towards each other and in a few billion years our two galaxies will merge into one big one. It will be a grand spectacle of universal proportions. Astronomers have even modeled what this merger would look like.
Story
The constellation is included in the Almagest and is the most ancient. The Greek myth tells of the beautiful princess Andromeda, who was given by King Kefei to be devoured by a sea monster. She was released by Perseus, and after death the gods placed her in the starry sky.
(I hope that it is successful), and now let's try to find in it what, in fact, beginner amateur astronomers are interested in this constellation. It will be of course about Andromeda Nebulae. So, how to find the Andromeda Nebula in the starry sky?
The first thing to say before embarking on a search: the Andromeda Nebula is not at all not a nebula, that is not a cloud of interstellar gas like the Orion Nebula, a giant galaxy like our Milky Way and even more. According to recent estimates, the Andromeda Nebula contains about a thousand billion stars. Approximately one in 20 of these stars is similar in its characteristics to our Sun.
Why is the Andromeda Nebula so named? This history has been going on since the time when astronomers called nebulae any faint, obscure object that could not be resolved through a telescope into individual stars, similar in appearance to a cloud or patch of the Milky Way. Later it turned out that some of these objects were distant star clusters, some were indeed clouds of interstellar gas, and some were very distant huge galaxies. But the common name for all has stuck and is still used, although it is quickly becoming obsolete.
The Andromeda Nebula has official designations. The most famous - M31(object number 31 from the catalog of Charles Messier) and NGC 224(The 224th object from the "New General Catalog" of nebulous objects). So don't be surprised if instead of "Andromeda Nebula" you read "M31", "NGC 224" or "Andromeda Galaxy".
On the good photos The Andromeda Nebula looks like this:
Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Asi 071 equipment, Takahashi Epsilon 130 telescope, total exposure 5.4 hours. Photo: Richard Sweeney
But as What does the Andromeda Nebula look like in the sky? Depends on where, when and how you look at it. On the quality of the observed greatest influence have three factors:
- sky flare. Cities have long been turned into citadels of light: street lighting is so bright that it successfully hid all faint stars from city dwellers, not to mention nebulae or the Milky Way. In addition, over big cities smog often hangs, which scatters the light of lanterns well and turns even a cloudless sky into milk.
- Height of the Andromeda Nebula above the horizon. At sunrise and sunset, it is difficult to observe the galaxy, since the atmospheric absorption of light is large directly above the horizon. Better conditions to observe the galaxy - August and September nights, as well as evenings in October, November and December when the galaxy is very high in the sky.
- General condition of the sky. Even outside the city, away from street lighting the sky may be unimportant. It is not the calmness of the atmosphere that is important, but its transparency. The more transparent and clear sky above your head, the fainter objects you will be able to see on it.
Let's say you are outside the city, or at least on the outskirts of the city, and the sky above you is more or less dark and transparent. There are two ways to find the Andromeda galaxy in the night sky.
How to find the Andromeda Nebula in the sky. Method number 1
In the first way, the zero point of your search is a large quadrilateral of stars called Pegasus square.
The great square of Pegasus and the constellation Andromeda adjoining the square on the left. Pattern: Stellarium
On autumn evenings, Pegasus Square hardly needs to be found - it will literally catch your eye if you face south and raise your head up. The stars forming the square are not very bright - their brilliance is approximately equal to the brilliance of the stars of the famous Ursa Major bucket, but since the stars surrounding the square are also not bright, it literally dominates the picture of the evening sky in the second half of autumn.
Having found the square of Pegasus in the sky, you can easily find all the main stars that form the figure of Andromeda. Let me remind you that the main drawing of the constellation is a chain of stars extending from the upper left corner of the square of Pegasus to the east, forming together with the square something resembling a giant smoking pipe and mouthpiece.
In November evenings, Andromeda is very high in the sky.
Now pay attention to the middle star in the chain. Is it β Andromedae or a star Mirach. (Problems with Greek letters? Alphabet .) Above it you will see two rather dim stars - μ and ν Andromeda. Together, three stars form andromeda's belt. (On medieval maps, the heroine of an ancient myth stands chained to a rock, but ... for some reason in a horizontal position!) So, the Andromeda Nebula is located directly above the belt, above the asterisk ν of Andromeda!
The Andromeda Nebula is directly above the star Nu Andromeda. Pattern: Stellarium
How to find the Andromeda Nebula in the sky. Method number 2
The second way is that we are looking for the Andromeda Nebula not from the square of Pegasus, but from constellation Cassiopeia, which is almost at its zenith in autumn evenings.
The constellation Cassiopeia is extremely easy to find thanks to the characteristic letter W(or M, whichever you prefer) that it forms in the sky. To see Cassiopeia in the fall, just.
Did you find a constellation? Now notice that the right half of the celestial W is sharper than the left. This sharper half of the constellation is an arrow pointing towards the Andromeda galaxy.
Use the sharper right side of the W as a celestial arrow pointing towards the Andromeda Nebula. Pattern: Stellarium
The distance from the tip of the arrow to the nebula is about 4 times greater than between neighboring stars that form the letter W of Cassiopeia.
And now you see?
What to do if the Andromeda Nebula is not visible?
If the Andromeda Nebula is not visible to the naked eye, you can try to find it with binoculars or a telescope.
Binoculars give you a larger field of view, making it easier to find the galaxy through them. Start the search from the star Mirach (beta Andromeda), then guide the binoculars through the mu and nu of Andromeda. In the city sky, the nebula will appear through binoculars as an indistinct spot just above and to the right of Andromeda's nude. Explore this region of the sky slowly. Only outside the city, the even soft glow of the galaxy will be striking.
In a telescope, the search must also be carried out from the star Mirach successively through mu and nu of Andromeda. When searching, use smallest magnification possible to increase the field of view. In general, for observing galaxies and faint nebulae, large magnifications are useless - they reduce the contrast. Newton owners, be aware that your telescopes give an inverted image! Those with Go To telescopes can simply type in the name of the nebula and the telescope will point to it automatically.
Post Views: 2 448
Big galaxy. Contains approximately 1 trillion stars, which is 2.5-5 times the size of the Milky Way. It is located in the constellation Andromeda and is 2.52 million light miles away. years. The plane of the galaxy is inclined to the line of sight at an angle of 15°, its apparent size is 3.2 × 1.0°, visible magnitude- +3.4m.
Observation history
First photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy taken by Isaac Roberts
The first written mention of the Andromeda galaxy is contained in the "Catalogue of Fixed Stars" by the Persian astronomer As-Sufi (946), who described it as a "small cloud". The first description of an object based on telescope observations was made by the German astronomer Simon Marius in 1612. When creating his famous catalog, Charles Messier introduced an object under the definition of M 31, mistakenly attributing the discovery to Marius. In 1785, William Herschel noted a faint red spot in the center of M 31. He believed that the galaxy was the closest of all nebulae, and calculated the distance to it (totally untrue), equivalent to 2000 distances between and Sirius.
In 1864, William Huggins, observing the spectrum of M 31, found that it differed from the spectra of gas and dust nebulae. The data indicated that M 31 consisted of many individual stars. Based on this, Huggins suggested the stellar nature of the object, which was confirmed in subsequent years.
In 1885, SN 1885A, known in astronomical literature as S Andromedae. In the entire history of observations, this is so far only one such event recorded in M 31.
The first photographs of the galaxy were taken by Welsh astronomer Isaac Roberts in 1887. Using his own small observatory in Sussex, he photographed M 31 and determined the object's spiral structure for the first time. However, at the time, M31 was still considered to belong to our galaxy, and Roberts mistakenly believed that it was another solar system with the forming planets.
The radial velocity of the galaxy was determined by the American astronomer Westo Slifer in 1912. Using spectral analysis, he calculated that M 31 is moving towards the Sun at a speed unheard of for known astronomical objects of that time: about 300 km / s.
Experts at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, after analyzing the results of a 10-year observation of M 31 using (Chandra), discovered that the glow of matter falling on the core of the Andromeda galaxy was dim until January 6, 2006, when a flash occurred that increased the brightness of M31 * in the X-ray range by 100 times. Further, the brightness decreased, but still remained 10 times more powerful than before 2006.
General characteristics
Movement in the Local Group
The Andromeda Galaxy in ultraviolet light.
The Andromeda Galaxy, like the Milky Way, belongs to the Local Group, and moves towards the Sun at a speed of 300 km / s, so it belongs to the objects with a violet shift. Having determined the direction of the Sun's movement along the Milky Way, astronomers found out that the Andromeda Galaxy and our Galaxy are approaching each other at a speed of 100-140 km/s. Accordingly, the collision of two galactic systems will occur approximately in 3-4 billion years. If this happens, they both will most likely merge into one large galaxy. It is possible that in this case ours will be thrown into intergalactic space by powerful gravitational perturbations. The destruction of the Sun and, most likely, will not occur during this process.
Structure
The Andromeda Galaxy is the largest in the Local Group: based on data obtained using a space telescope, astronomers have found that it includes about a trillion. She has several: M 32, M 110, NGC 185, NGC 147 and possibly others. Its length is 260,000 light years, which is 2.6 times greater than that of the Milky Way.
Core
In the core of M 31, as in many other galaxies (including the Milky Way), there is a candidate for (SBH). Calculations have shown that its mass exceeds 140 million solar masses. In 2005, the space telescope discovered a mysterious disk of young blue stars surrounding the NBS. They revolve around a relativistic object, just like the planets around the sun. Astronomers have been puzzled by how such a donut-shaped disk could form so close to such a massive object. According to calculations, the monstrous tidal forces of NBHs should not allow them to thicken and form new stars. Further observations may provide a clue.
Double galactic core
The discovery of this disc put another argument in the treasury of the theory of existence. For the first time, blue light in the core of M 31 was discovered by astronomers back in 1995 using the Hubble telescope. Three years later, the light was identified with a cluster of blue stars. And only in 2005, using a spectrograph mounted on a telescope, observers determined that the cluster consists of more than four hundred stars that formed approximately 200 million years ago. The stars are grouped into a disk only 1 light year in diameter. In the center of the disk, older and cooler red stars, previously discovered by Hubble, nest. The radial velocities of the disk stars were calculated. Thanks to the gravitational influence of SCHH, they turned out to be record-breaking - 1000 km / s (3.6 million kilometers per hour). At this speed, you can fly around in 40 seconds Earth or six minutes to get from Earth to.
In addition to the SMBH and the disk of blue stars, there are other objects in the core of the galaxy. In 1993, a double at the center of M 31 was discovered, which came as a surprise to astronomers, since the two clusters merge into one in a fairly short period of time: about 100 thousand years. According to calculations, the merger should have occurred many millions of years ago, but for strange reasons this did not happen. Scott Tremaine ( Scott Tremaine) from Princeton University proposed to explain this by the fact that in the center of the galaxy there is not a double cluster, but a ring of old red stars. This ring may look like two clusters, since we only see stars in opposite sides rings. Thus, this ring should be located at a distance of 5 light years from the SMBH and surround a disk of young blue stars. The ring and the disk are turned to us on the same side, which may indicate their interdependence.
While studying the M 31 center with the XMM-Newton space telescope, a group of European researchers discovered 63 discrete X-ray sources. Most of them (46 objects) have been identified as low-mass binary X-ray stars, while the rest are either or candidates for black holes in binary systems.
Other objects
Globular Cluster Mayall II
About 460 globular clusters have been registered in the galaxy. The most massive of them - Mayall II, also called G1 - has the highest luminosity in the Local Group, ahead of the brightness of the brightest cluster in the Milky Way - Omega Centauri. It is located at a distance of about 130,000 light-years from the center of the Andromeda galaxy and contains at least 300,000 old stars. Its structure, as well as stars belonging to different populations, indicate that this is most likely the core of an ancient dwarf galaxy, once swallowed by M31. According to research, at the center of this cluster is a candidate black hole with a mass of 20,000 suns. Similar objects also exist in other clusters.
In 2005, astronomers discovered a completely the new kind star clusters. Three newly discovered clusters contain hundreds of thousands bright stars- with almost the same number as in globular clusters. But what distinguishes them from globular clusters is that they are much larger—several hundred light-years across—and also less massive. The distances between the stars in them are also much greater. Perhaps they represent a transitional class of systems between globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies.
The galaxy contains the star PA-99-N2, around which it orbits - the first to be discovered outside the Milky Way.
Satellite galaxies
The Andromeda Galaxy, like our Milky Way, is surrounded by several dwarf galaxies- small star systems, consisting of several billion stars. The largest and most famous of them are the compact M 32 and M 110, visible in any photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy. Calculations show that M 32 in the recent past may have been a spiral, but the process that supports the formation of its spiral arms was suppressed by the powerful tidal forces of the Andromeda Galaxy. M 110 also participates in gravitational interaction with the Andromeda Galaxy: astronomers have discovered a giant stream of stars rich in heavy metals, on the periphery of M 31 - in its halo. Similar stars also inhabit the dwarf M 110, which indicates their migration from one galaxy to another.
In the course of long-term observations with the help of Canada-France-Hawaii, a whole group of dwarf galaxies circulating in the same plane around M 31 was discovered (the work was published in early 2013).
Observations of the Andromeda Nebula
The Andromeda Nebula is one of the few extragalactic objects that can be seen. naked eye. For an observer from the Earth, in terms of the area occupied on the celestial sphere, it is seven times larger than the disk of the Moon, but only the core of the galaxy is clearly distinguishable. Binoculars are needed to see the details of the structure.
To discover the galaxy, you first need to find the North Star (α Ursa Minor, the last star of the Little Dipper handle). Then you need to find Cassiopeia. In Cassiopeia, we are looking for the brightest star - α Cassiopeia (the second lower corner, if the observer sees Cassiopeia in the form of the letter W). After that, it is necessary to draw a line connecting these two stars and, continuing to move in the direction from the North Star, find the Big Square. The first star in this direction will be Alferatz, which belongs to both the Great Square and Andromeda. This star is the "head" of Andromeda, from which two curved lines extend - "legs". On the one that is closer to Cassiopeia, you need to count the third star (from head to toe). Above it (if Cassiopeia is also on top) the Galaxy will be located, which is visible to the naked eye as a dim, blurry star, and when viewed through binoculars, it resembles a small elliptical cloud.
Sky neighbors from the Messier catalog
- M 32 and M 110 are satellites of the Andromeda Nebula;
- M 33 (in the Triangulum, to the south - on the other side of β And) - a large spiral galaxy facing us with its plane;
- M 76 (to the northeast, in the constellation Perseus) - a small planetary nebula "Small Dumbbell";
- M 34 (to the east, also in the constellation Perseus) is a fairly bright open cluster.
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 thus bestowed immortal life. The constellation Andromeda is one of these celestial drawings. It is famous, however, not only for its legend: the famous neighbor milky way and a few 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. Every day it went 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 his head and married a beautiful maiden. Ever since Perseus has existed 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 shape: 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 the Great Square of Pegasus.
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). It was finally fixed as part of the described constellation in 1928. Ptolemy's Alpheratz belonged to Pegasus. The name itself testifies to the history of the luminary: it means, translated from Arabic, "the navel of a horse."
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 in the atmosphere of metals included in the name of the type 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. The gloss range is 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 as large 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 to three objects exceeds 2 million light years.
supernova
The constellation Andromeda became the object of observation of many astronomers in 1885. Then it lit up with a flash. 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 space body in her. 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 Andromeda is classified as a Type Ia supernova, although its Orange color and the light curve do not correspond to 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.
A cold autumn evening... Distant stars tremble and twinkle above the tops of the yellowed trees. In the south, the Great Summer Triangle is visible - the three brightest stars. But its time passes: closer to midnight, the triangle approaches the horizon, and on the southern slope, the place is occupied by a large bucket of the constellations Pegasus and Andromeda.
For more than two thousand years, since the time of Hipparchus and Eratosthenes, the constellation of the autumn sky Andromeda flickers brightly among a scattering of distant stars.
The legend of the constellation Andromeda
At a time when magic ruled the world, in the era of the gods of Olympus, in a distant country called Ethiopia, King Cepheus ruled. He had a wife, Cassiopeia, and a daughter, Andromeda.
And everything would have been fine in the country of King Cepheus, if not for the boasting of his lovely wife Cassiopeia. Once, the king's wife boasted that she was more beautiful than nereids and nymphs. The sea beauties heard about it. Resentment surged over the edge, and they complained to the god of the seas, Poseidon. Being his daughters and granddaughters, they understood that he would listen to them and not leave unpunished a terrible insult.
Then Poseidon got angry and sent a terrible monster to Ethiopia. The terrible whale constantly came out of the sea and destroyed the country. Then King Cepheus was saddened, having learned the whole truth from his wife, and went for advice to the oracle of Zeus. He listened to him and advised to give his daughter Andromeda for a monster - Kita, in order for peace to come in the country. But how could one sacrifice one's own daughter? In complete disarray, Cepheus wandered home. After some time, the people learned about the advice of the oracle and forced the king to resolve this issue.
Pay
Andromeda, chained to a rock, awaited her death in horror.
But suddenly Perseus appeared unexpectedly, having learned the whole truth, he began to wait for the monster to fight him.
Happy end of story
As in any good mythical legend good has conquered evil.
But not without exceptions. Andromeda was betrothed to Finney, the brother of Cepheus. He appeared at the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda and demanded the return of the bride. But Perseus was not going to give away the beautiful bride. He took out the head of the Medusa Gorgon and turned Phineus into stone. Such is the history of the times of magic and gods. And we will involuntarily remember her, watching in the sky how Andromeda flickers brightly - the constellation, the legend of which is so beautiful and instructive.
How to find Andromeda in the sky?
After reading interesting legend, most likely, you will want to see Andromeda with your own eyes. Finding her is easy. The easiest way to find the constellation is in the fall. In the period from September to early December, the constellation Andromeda can be observed from the beginning of twilight until morning. In the evening, the asterism is in the east, a little closer to midnight - in the south. Closer to the morning shifts to westbound. First you need to find a giant quadrangle - Pegasus Square.
To the left of the Square, you can see a chain of stars of the same luminosity. This is exactly what the stars of the constellation Andromeda are.
You can find the desired asterism in another way. First, find the constellation Cassiopeia, it looks like the letter M or W, depending on the position of the asterism in the sky. The stars of Andromeda are directly under this "letter". With the onset of December, the constellation Andromeda shifts to the west. Closer to spring, the asterism is already in the northwest direction. And with the approach of summer, it comes out only at dawn, and it is quite difficult to notice it.
The city lights are fading and the stars are shining
Of course, even a person with a rich imagination is difficult to imagine a girl, looking at the "handle" in the sky. However, these three stars are not the whole constellation - Andromeda (photo below) occupies a much larger area in the sky. On the north side, the asterism borders on the constellations Pegasus and Cassiopeia, on the south - on the Triangulum and Pisces, and on the west it is bounded by the Lizard and Pegasus.
However, to see all the stars of the Andromeda constellation, you will need to go outside the city, where there is no night light. A little getting used to the dark, you will be amazed a huge number stars in the sky that are visible to the naked eye. Take a look at our constellation Andromeda - Alpha Andromeda forms the upper left corner of Pegasus Square - the girl's head. The following objects δ, σ and θ form the shoulders of Andromeda, β, μ and ν of the constellation - her waist. Other objects - γ and M51 Andromeda - her legs. The girl's hands are marked with stars λ on one side and ζ on the other.
You see that the girl's arms are spread out to the sides. Why? The answer is obvious: she is chained to a rock. If you look closely, the constellation Andromeda really resembles the figure of a girl chained to a rock.
Walking away from the city lights, you saw how the "handle" took on the shape of a girl from an ancient legend.
Some terms in plain language
It may be a bit difficult to remember or understand some of the description.
We will explain to you plain language some of the terms and expressions used in the article:
- Giants are stars much larger than our Sun (it is a yellow dwarf).
- The temperature in Kelvin is 273 degrees higher than in Celsius (0 degrees Celsius translates to 273 degrees Kelvin).
- A light year is the distance that light travels in one year (for example, light travels from the Sun to Earth in 8 minutes 19 seconds).
- “Spectral class” is often mentioned - scientists determine the temperature of a distant star using a certain spectrum (like a rainbow with different width stripes of all colors).
- The stars of the constellations (objects) are designated, starting with the brightest, using the Greek alphabet: α, β, γ, and so on. They may have, in addition, separate name. For example: Alferatz or α Andromeda.
Constellation Andromeda: description of the stars
Let's start with the brightest star in our asterism.
Alpheratz is the brightest star in the constellation Andromeda. Arabic in translation means "horse's navel". From antiquity and the Middle Ages until the 17th century, this star belonged simultaneously to two constellations - Pegasus and Andromeda.
Alferatz is a blue subgiant with a temperature of 13,000 degrees Kelvin, emitting 200 times more light than the Sun. It is located at a distance of 97 light years from Earth. A study of the spectrum showed that Alferatz is a pair star. She is considered prominent representative an amazing class of mercury-manganese stars.
In their atmosphere, an excess of europium, gallium, mercury and manganese can be observed, and the share of all other elements is insignificant. Scientists speculate that main reason anomalies can be a strong influence of the radiation and gravity of the star.
β constellation Andromeda - Mirah, a fairly large object, belongs to the group of red giants.
Alamak - γ Andromedae, is the third brightest star in the constellation. This a complex system, which consists of four bright components. Alamak is one of the beautiful double stars that can be observed even through a small telescope. Its main yellow star has a bluish companion and is considered a K3 giant. The temperature of the object reaches about 4500 K. Almak's radius is 70 times greater than that of our luminary.
These are the main characteristics of the three brightest stars in the Andromeda constellation.
So where was the rock that Andromeda was chained to? This question was asked by many geographers of the past. According to Strabo, the rock was located in Iop, not far from the city of Tel Aviv. The Jewish chronicler Josephus Flavius (1st century AD) even claimed that prints from the chains of Andromeda and the remains of a monster could be found on the shore!
As for Ethiopia, it is quite far from Israel. Obviously, this rock was on the shores of the Red Sea, and Andromeda herself was a black woman. True, according to Herodotus, all the events described took place on the territory of India. Definitely the question remains open. It is quite possible that the legend told about real events, but transformed into a kind of myth that has come down to our time.
