Sky and Telescope - December 2017 - 55

Deep-Sky Wonders by Sue French

The Queen's Finest
Look to Cassiopeia for her varied
collection of celestial treasure.

Next with her Cepheus Cassiopeia shines,
Her posture sad, and mourns amongst the Signs;
She sees her daughter chain'd, the rolling Tide
The Monster spout, and curses her old Pride:
She fears that Perseus will inconstant prove,
And now in Heaven forget his former Love;
But He attends, and bears the Gorgon's Head,
His Spoil, and witness of a coming aid.
-Marcus Manilius, Astronomica, trans.
s. Thomas Creech (1697)

O

ne of the most renowned Greek
myths begins with Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia, who made the mistake
of boasting that she was more beautiful than the alluring sea nymphs. The
offended nymphs complained to the
sea-god Poseidon, who sent the hor2h 00m

1h 30m

1h 00m

0h 30m

rific sea monster Cetus to ravage her
kingdom. An oracle counseled Queen
Cassiopeia and King Cepheus that they
could only save their realm by sacrificing their daughter, Andromeda, to the
rapacious monster. So poor Andromeda was chained to a rock where she
0h 00m

23h 30m

23h 00m

+65°

¡
CASSIOPEIA

654
663

M103

M52
+60°

a

129

p2

457

`

o

p1
d

q

Star magnitudes

4

225

b

r

HE VELIUS

g

l

281 and IC 1590
2
3
4
5
6
7

e

7789

_

m

+
h
c

+55°

awaited her fate. Fortunately, valiant
Perseus chanced upon the weeping
maiden just after beheading Medusa, a
hideous creature that none could behold
without turning to stone. Smitten by
Andromeda's beauty and moved by her
plight, Perseus rushed to her aid and
bade her cover her eyes. As Cetus reared
up from the waves, Perseus drew Medusa's severed head from his satchel and
literally petrified the fearsome beast.
From her starry perch in the heavens,
Cassiopeia tenders a wealth of celestial
treasure to anyone who cares to procure
it, as though in payment for all the trouble she caused. Among these riches is the
gem-encrusted star cluster Messier 52,
which sparkles 41′ due south of orange,
5.0-magnitude 4 Cassiopeiae.
M52 is a moderately bright ball of
mist flecked with faint stars through
my 130-mm refractor at 23×. A brighter
jewel at the western edge glitters yelloworange. At 63× this starry brooch holds
a clutch of 25 diamond-chip stars over
dappled haze, encased in a sparser halo.
In a 102× view, the cluster's densest
region spans about 5½′ and is offset to
the west within the halo. The 12′ halo
doubles the number of stars. Through
s k y a n d t e l e s c o p e . c o m * D E C E M B E R 2 0 17

55



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Sky and Telescope - December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - December 2017

Contents
Sky and Telescope - December 2017 - Cover1
Sky and Telescope - December 2017 - Cover2
Sky and Telescope - December 2017 - 1
Sky and Telescope - December 2017 - Contents
Sky and Telescope - December 2017 - 3
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