Hercules is bordered by Draco to the north Boötes, Corona Borealis, and Serpens Caput to the east Ophiuchus to the south Aquila to the southwest and Sagitta, Vulpecula, and Lyra to the west. It is the fifth-largest of the modern constellations and is the largest of the 50 which have no stars brighter than apparent magnitude +2.5.Ĭharacteristics The constellation Hercules as it may appear to the naked eye. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Hercules is a constellation named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles.

It is said to depict the eye of the severed head of Medusa in the constellation of Perseus- although gazing up at this particular star won’t turn you to stone.Visible at latitudes between + 90° and − 50°.īest visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of July. When the stars were later given names by al-Sufi, the variable star Beta Persei was named Algol, meaning the Demon’s Head. All of these characters have been placed into the stars, with the majority of them grouped together in a section of sky in the Northern Hemisphere, while Cetus lurks further south. Falling in love at first sight with the beautiful damsel in distress below, Perseus saved her from her doom using the severed head of Medusa as a weapon, and took Andromeda as his bride. As luck would have it, the great hero Perseus was flying back over Ethiopia on his winged horse, Pegasus, after slaying the Gorgon Medusa. They chained the beautiful maiden to a rock to await her fate - hence why the constellation of Andromeda is often called 'the Chained Maiden' in modern times. Wanting to appease the gods and end Poseidon’s wrath, the king and queen were told that they must sacrifice their daughter to the sea monster. To punish the queen for her arrogance, Poseidon sent floods and a sea monster, Cetus- though this constellation is often called the Whale in astronomy-to terrorize the coast of Ethiopia. This vanity angered the Nereids, who complained to the sea god Poseidon about the vain queen’s words. Cassiopeia was incredibly vain, and boasted of her daughter’s beauty, telling people she was lovelier than even the Nereids, sea nymphs whose beauty was renowned.

They had a beautiful daughter, Andromeda. In Greek mythology, Cepheus and Cassiopeia were the king and queen of ancient Ethiopia - now they are the King and Queen in our stars. The Cassiopeia constellation has the shape of an M or W, depending on how its position in the sky.

Hercules son of zeus constellation