The Bat constellation, or Cassiopeia, is a natural compass that stands out in the sky. Which have been used by sailors for a long time since ancient times
The various constellations in the sky, in ancient times, people used to imagine them as paradise. Later, with the abundance of stars in the sky, humans began to divide the stars into groups. Draw pictures of people, animals, and things according to the beliefs and lifestyles of each region. For example, Europeans live in the mountains mainly by hunting. You can see the Orion constellation in the shape of Orion. The Siamese people cultivate or agriculture is the main one, so the same constellation can be seen in the form of a turtle, a plow, etc.
After that, in addition to looking at the beautiful stars for their beauty at night, man began to use the constellations in the sky as a natural compass to guide him at night. Especially group sailors have been using finding the position of the North Star as a navigation aid in the Northern Hemisphere for centuries. The special feature of the North Star is that it is a star that has a fixed position unlike other stars. There will be a change in position in the sky as the Earth rotates. The North Star is still in the same position, and when the North Star is found, it can indicate that this direction is north.
He began to understand the bat constellation
Bat constellation It is a constellation in the northern hemisphere. Like the North Star in the Northern Hemisphere. The constellation Cassiopeia is a constellation that can be seen all year round. But on the other hand, it is a constellation in the northern celestial sphere.
People living in the Southern Hemisphere will find it difficult to see it. Due to the location of the stars above the celestial sphere will be below the Earth's surface most of the time. This constellation is one of 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy. It is also a constellation on the list of 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union.
This constellation represents the Queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology. Queen Cassiopeia, the mother of Princess Andromeda, disrespected the gods and caused the princess to be sacrificed to the whale demon, but the hero Perseus came to save her in time.
The legend of Queen Cassiopeia and Andromeda
Cassiopeia is one of the fifty sea nymphs in Greek mythology, called the spirit daughter of the ocean. Her beauty was so famous that Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, met her on the beach and fell in love with her. Please marry me. She gave birth to a daughter named Andromeda
After marrying King Cepheus, Cassiopeia bragged that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the sea gods. Create God Neptune The guardian of the ocean, Poseidon, was so angry that he created a giant wave. Hoping to attack Ethiopia, Cassiopeia used its power to protect the city. Then Poseidon sent the sea demon Cetus. Hoping to destroy and kill the city of Ethiopia, his anxiety reached Cepheus. Therefore, he had to consult an expert, a priest of Ammon, who came to the conclusion that there was only one way to stop this Setos. Andromeda's daughter must be brought. He came to sacrifice his life at sea for Cetus, which Cepheus was forced to do
When Andromeda was brought, worshiping the talisman in the middle of the sea meant killing evil demons. The son of the great god Zeus, named Perseus, passed by, who with his horse Pegasus managed to save Andromeda. By turning Medusa's head towards Satan, Satan turned into stone.
The great god Zeus ordered Cassiopeia to hang upside down. Heaven and its throne But then the great god fell under the spell of Cassiopeia. This led to the goddess Aphrodite offering to exchange the chair. That is, I will save my life in exchange for cosmetics. Cassiopeia agreed. She survived and became the Throne Goddess.
In the end, Aphrodite and Cassiopeia were best friends. He often travels across the ocean to visit his daughter and the true kingdom. In which Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia, there are constellations as well. It is a constellation in the northern sky. Near the constellation Flying Horse.
Five stars in the constellation Bat
The Bat constellation consists of 5-6 stars arranged in a μ-shape (in the picture, it looks upside down in the shape of the letter W), the Thais call it the flying bat star, and it is the constellation Cassiopeia, which consists of 5 stars.
α (Alpha) – Cas(Schedar) The star Cheddar is a yellow star in a binary star system with apparent brightnesses of 2.23 and 8.9, located about 228 light-years from Earth.
β – Cas(Caph) Chaf star is a blue-white star. It is a variable star. It has an apparent brightness ranging between 2.25-2.31 and is about 54 light-years away from Earth.
Y – Cas(Cih) Dao Sih is a blue star. It is a variable star. It has an apparent brightness of 1.6-3.0, with another star having an apparent brightness of about 8.8 located about 613 light-years from Earth.
δ – Cas(Ruchbah) Ruchbah has an apparent brightness of 2.7 and is about 99 light-years from Earth.
ε – Cas(Segin) The star Segin has an apparent brightness of 3.38 and is about 442 light-years away from Earth.
Find the North Star from the Bat constellation
On nights when the Ursa Major is blurry, has fallen, or has not yet risen. Constellation Bats will play a big role in finding the North Star or confirming the North. You can roughly determine the north based on the bat constellation. Therefore, this constellation is important.
The bat constellation is always in the opposite direction to Ursa Major. So when the constellation Ursa Major falls, the bat constellation is rising. When the Big Dipper is about to rise, the Bat is about to set as well. From the constellation Bats, draw two lines from the four stars on each side of M to find the intersection point. Then drag from the crossing point to the central star to get a line to the North Star as well.
However, besides Cassiopeia, there are two other constellations that can be used to find the North Star. The constellation Ursa Major or the Alligator star and the constellation Orion.
Researched and edited by Sittichot Suphawan.
Image from NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STSCI/AURA)
Reference information
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