Name a Star in the Perseus Constellation

Perseus is a northern constellation that represents the hero or prince. He is depicted with a sword in his right hand, the head of Medusa in his left, and with wings at his feet. The head of the Gorgon Medusa forms a distinct area of Perseus, but it is still part of the Perseus constellation. Medusa is represented as a trunkless head of a frightful Gorgon, covered with coiling snakes instead of hair, held aloft by Perseus. The constellation is part of the Royal Family of constellations. It includes Perseus, his wife Andromeda and his in-laws, King Cepheus, and Queen Cassiopeia. The four have homogenous locations in the northern sky in the autumn. 

Perseus is one of the more inspirational characters as a constellation and the celebrities tend to gravitate toward its magical reputation.  Some of the people with stars named in the Perseus constellation include: Adam Sandler, George Walker Bush (Governor), Mariah-Carey, Mario Andretti, Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, and Mick Jagger. Click here for more information.

There are several famous major stars in Perseus. Mirfak, “the elbow”, is a brilliant lilac color of a 2 magnitude. Algol, “the demon”, is a 2.3 magnitude white binary located in the eye of the Medusa. Perseus is also famous for its popular summer meteor shower, known as the Perseids. This shower occurs each year as the Earth passes through a field of debris left by the comet Swift–Tuttle.  As the chunks for the comet burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere they appear as “Shooting Stars” radiating from the constellation Perseus. The shower exhibits up to 60 or more meteors each hour. It is brightest in the wee morning hours between August 10th to August 14th, peaking around August 13th.  

Perseus is a far northern constellation that can be seen from the entire northern hemisphere and as far south as Zimbabwe. Perseus is a favorite location to buy a star package to name a star for a hero. Many stars are named in this constellation for first responders, veterans, and other heroes in our lives. The constellation Perseus is bordered by Andromeda, Aries, Auriga, Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, Taurus and Triangulum.    

Symbol: Per 

Right Ascension: 03:27 

Declination: 44 

Diameter (°): 17 

Area (square °): 615 

Opposition: Nov 16 

Size Rank: 24th 

Brightness Rank: 18th 

Genitive: Persei   

Major or notable stars in Perseus  

Mirfak – α Persei (Alpha Persei) 

Algol – β Persei (Beta Persei) 

Atik (Menkhib) – ζ Persei (Zeta Persei) 

ε Persei (Epsilon Persei) 

γ Persei (Gamma Persei) 

δ Persei (Delta Persei) 

Gorgonea Tertia – ρ Persei (Rho Persei) 

Miram – η Persei (Eta Persei) 

Misam – κ Persei (Kappa Persei) 

ν Persei (Nu Persei) 

Atik – ο Persei (Omicron Persei) 

Menkib – ξ Persei (Xi Persei) 

Seif – φ Persei (Phi Persei) 

ι Persei (Iota Persei) 

θ Persei (Theta Persei) 

ψ Persei – Psi Persei 

Gorgonea Quarta – ω Persei (Omega Persei) 

Gorgonea Secunda – π Persei (Pi Persei) 

1 Aurigae – HR 1533 

X Persei 

Nova Persei 1901 (GK Persei) 

V713 Persei   

Deep Sky Objects in Perseus  

Messier 34 (M34, NGC 1039) 

Little Dumbbell Nebula – Messier 76 (M76, NGC 650 & NGC 651) 

Alpha Persei Cluster (Melotte 20, Collinder 39) 

Perseus molecular cloud 

Perseus Cluster – Abell 426 

3C 83.1B 

Double Cluster (Caldwell 14, NGC 869 & NGC 884) 

NGC 1333 

NGC 1260 

California Nebula (NGC 1499) 

Perseus A – NGC 1275 (Caldwell 24) 

NGC 1058  

Mythology of the Constellation Perseus  

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë. No sooner was he born than he was thrown into the Aegean Sea with his mother by his grandfather Acrisius. They were swept to the coasts of one of the islands of the Cyclades called Seriphos and rescued by Dictys, the brother of King Polydectes. Following their rescue, they were treated kindly and cared for by the priests of Athena’s Temple. Perseus’ genius and manly courage soon made him a favorite of the gods.  Polydectes, the king of Seriphos, was charmed by the beautiful Danaë. The king knew that Perseus would protect Danaë from any advances, so he devised a plan to distract the youth. He claimed to be engaged to another woman and requested fine gifts for his wedding. He sent Perseus to retrieve the head of Medusa, the only one of the three Gorgons who was subject to mortality.  

The Gorgons were all were snake-haired serpents with yellow wings and brazen hands. They were covered with impenetrable scales. Not a pretty sight. They had the power to turn anyone looking at them into stone. To equip Perseus for this rather dangerous journey, Hades, God of the Infernal regions, loaned his helmet of invisibility. Athena, goddess of wisdom, furnished him with her mirror-like bronze shield. Hephaestus (Vulcan) gave him the winged sandals of Mercury and a dagger made of diamonds. 

Being suitably equipped for the raid, Perseus flew through the air with Athena’s help to reach the monster. By great good fortune, Medusa was asleep as Perseus approached. With a cunning that delighted and amazed Athena, he maneuvered himself into position by the reflection of his shield and cut off Medusa’s head with one blow. The noise awoke Medusa’s companions, but because Pluto’s helmet made Perseus invisible, the remaining Gorgons couldn’t track him down. Perseus then made his way through the air with Medusa’s head dripping in his hand. From the blood it secreted sprang the many serpents that have ever since infested the sandy deserts of Lybia. On his way to Seriphos he spotted Andromeda. She was lashed to a rock and was sure to be killed by the sea monster Cetus.  Using the head of Medusa, he turned the monster to stone and rescued Andromeda. He and Andromeda later married and had many children. Their first-born son, Peres, gets credit as the first Persian. The destruction of Medusa naturally gave Perseus lasting fame. When he died, he was immortalized as a constellation, with the head of Medusa in his hand. 

FAQ 

Q.  What is Perseus? 

A. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus. Covering 615 square degrees, it ranks twenty-fourth of the 88 constellations in size. 

Q.  What stars are in the Perseus constellation? 

A. Perseus contains eight named stars. 

Q. What does Perseus mean? 

A. Perseus translates to the Hero