The constellation of Perseus, the Greek hero, remains prominent at this time of year, and is well worth tracking down. The chart shows the view looking west from London at midnight on Monday, when the constellation will appear to be on its side. The star Atik marks Perseus’s ankle, and Mirfak, the brightest star in the constellation, marks either his elbow or part of his torso, depending on the artist.
Perseus is one of the original 48 constellations catalogued by the second-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy. In myth, he is the hero who saves Andromeda from Cetus, the sea monster, after she was chained to the rocks in punishment. He performed his feat by revealing the severed head of the gorgon Medusa to Cetus, turning the creature to stone. In some tellings of the myth, he rode the winged horse of Pegasus as part of the adventure.
In the constellation, Medusa’s head is represented by the star Algol. In Arabic, the star’s full name is ra’s al-ghul, which means the ghoul’s head. Perseus can also be seen from much of the southern hemisphere. From Sydney, Australia, for example, the constellation just peeps over the northern horizon.
