The astronomica also known as the astronomicon, is a latin didactic poem about celestial. As the name suggests from the greek word, georgika, i. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the free. Destined to become the great grandfather of the famous hercules, perseus had a rough start in life.
Now as with all dilemmas, all forced choices this one, between dead matter bound by deterministic laws. Of course, i swerve from greenblatts basic orientation in his book. The perseus family includes several constellations associated with the perseus myth. Here are the 48 original constellations introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the almagest, c. Writing four centuries after lucretiuss death, he enters under the 171st. The gorgons were three sisters, only one of whom, medusa, was mortal. Cassiopeia, cepheus, andromeda, perseus, pegasus, and cetus representing the monster sent to devour andromeda. The galactic equator is crossing our field of view, whereas in these fields pointing so far away from the galactic center, the star fields are not very dense.
Constellation perseus astrology perseus constellation gives an intelligent, strong, bold. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious. A few drops of medusas blood fell into the sea, mixed with the foam, and gave birth to pegasus, the flying horse, who later played a part in the story of another hero, bellerophon. It may be also that the heavens do all remain at rest, whilst yet are borne along the lucid constellations. Back in fifthcentury greece, four hundred years before lucretius, it was still. Perseus has been recognized as a constellation for at least 2,000 years.
Other constellations in the perseus group include andromeda, cassiopeia and pegasus. On the nature of things by lucretius, part of the internet classics archive. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. Perseus is a constellation in the northern hemisphere. On the nature of the universe is a didactic epic poem. Perseus, constellation in the northern sky at about 4 hours right ascension and 40 north in declination. It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy, and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union iau.
It can be seen as a misty patch, given good seeing and a very dark background sky, free of light pollution. Perseus grandfather, acrisius, the king of argos, was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. Poisonous snakes in libyan, persus turned atlas into a stone for refusing to show any hospitality the stone became a large mountain, and coral. Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle in the northern hemisphere, radiates. In the 19th century, the constellation was known as perseus et caput medusae perseus and the head of medusa. Perseus spans 28 degrees of the zodiac in the signs of taurus and gemini, and contains 12 named fixed stars.
It is one of the 48 listed by the 2ndcentury astronomer ptolemy,1 and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the international astronomical union iau. Today, its called perseus the hero or simply perseus per. It is located near several other constellations named after ancient greek legends surrounding perseus. How to find perseus night sky guide we the curious youtube. And we ourselves indeed to make this book, and still to seek the nature of the world and set it down, when once discovered, here. Perseus is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere that is visible during december. In book 4, lucretius discusses the senses and concludes with a section on love and lust. It was first charted by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. The vivid force of his mind prevailed, and he fared forth far beyond. List three natural phenomena created on perseus return trip from the bloody head of medusa. Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi card. Acrisius locked his daughter danae in a dungeon to prevent her bearing a child.
This is the list of notable stars in the constellation perseus, sorted by decreasing brightness. Perseus constellation perseus, named after the greek mythological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northern sky. Perseus the hero perseus celestial atlas by alexander jamieson 1822. While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane, and lets. Perseus contains a number of stars brighter than magnitude 4. Menzel also included a few neighboring constellations. The internet classics archive on the nature of things by. The constellations andromeda and perseus, along with pegasus, casseopiea and cepheus, are richly intertwined in mythology, but are vastly divergent in the objects they present to amateur astronomers. In the teaching of 159264 mention has been made of atoms3. Perseus is near several constellations whose names derive from the adventures of the greek hero, known as the perseus group. In the sky, perseus lies near the constellations andromeda, cepheus, cassiopeia andromedas mother, cetus, and pegasus. The myth of perseus tells how he was sent on a quest to bring back a gorgons head to king polydectes. Dec 16, 2008 positioned north of the ecliptic plane, the constellation of perseus was one of the original 48 constellations listed by ptolemy, and endures as one of the 88 modern constellations.
Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. The radiant constellations gainst the clouds and there on high to take far other course from that whereon in truth theyre borne. Perseus and andromeda married and had six children. It shines reddish and changes its brightness between 2. The boundary of the perseus constellation contains 7 stars that host known exoplanets. This edition which complements existing aris and phillips commentaries on books 3, 4 and 6 will help to make lucretius urgent and. It shows binary star clusters and the open star cluster m34. Works by lucretius at perseus project internet encyclopedia of philosophy. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is divided into six untitled books, and explores epicurean physics through poetic. Perseus, named efter the greek meethological hero perseus, is a constellation in the northren sky.
In the western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from ptolemys list in the almagest which in turn has roots that go back to mesopotamian astronomy, and most of the far southern. In six books compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry, he expounds the scientific theories of the greek philosopher epicurus, with the aim of dispelling fear of the gods and fear of death and so enabling man to attain peace of mind and happiness. Perseus perseus in the greek mythology, perseus was the hero who rescued andromeda, the beautiful daughter of cepheus and cassiopeia, from whale, the sea monster. Positioned north of the ecliptic plane, the constellation of perseus was one of the original 48 constellations listed by ptolemy, and endures as one of. The summer 2010 issue of the earth scientist, available in our online store, includes articles on rivers and snow, classroom planetariums, satellites and oceanography, handson astronomy, and global warming. Constellation perseus the champion, is a northern constellation sitting above constellation taurus and below constellation cassiopeia, and between constellation andromeda and constellation auriga u. Lucretius refers to memmius by name four times in the first book, three times in the second. Preface no one can set about tnnslating lucretius into english without finding his head full of the great work of h. Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the greek mythological hero perseus. The two open clusters are right beside each other at magnitude 6. Consider the whole discussion of how the rooster emits certain particles which stab the pupils of the lion 4. When you find perseus, look for the constellations cassiopeia, cepheus and andromeda. Lucretius, on the nature of things loeb classical library. On the nature of things is a firstcentury bc didactic poem by the roman poet and philosopher lucretius c.
Ptolemy described perseus and 47 other constellations in the second century. The poemwhich seems to have been inspired by lucretiuss epicurean. In book 4 he sets out to prove once again that the universe is composed only of physical bits of matter called atoms and that gods did not create the cosmos nor do they intervene in human affairs. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after the. Pages in category perseus constellation the following 149 pages are in this category, out of 149 total. How does lucretius explain book 4 in on the nature.
Still, lucretius lays out some of his principles in their strongest form. This unaided eye constellation sky map has the following limits. The second brightest star is algol with a magnitude of 2. The constellation of perseus, the hero son of zeus, is best viewed in winter during the month of december. As a small side note, it is interesting that cepheus shows up again in greek mythology when he and 17 of his sons were killed by hercules. In book 4 he sets out to prove once again that the universe is composed only of physical bits of matter called atoms and that gods did not create the cosmos nor. Perseus then saved his mother from marrying polydectes by turning the king and his court to stone with the head of medusa. It is home to the perseid meteor shower which peaks around august 9 and can produce up to 60100 meteors per hour. This was a rather complex task, as anyone who saw her hideous face would be turned immediately to stonethe gorgons, according to bulfinch, were monstrous females with huge teeth like those of swine, brazen claws, and snaky hair bulfinchs. Wikimedia commons has media related to perseus constellation. The threeletter form in parentheses shows the abbreviation and the form in single quotes provides a translation or explanation.
While perseus lies along the milky way, and offers many sparkling open clusters and diffuse nebulae, andromeda lies away from our galaxys plane. And then, if haply our hand be set beneath one eye and press below thereon, then to our gaze each object which we gaze on seems to be, by some sensation twain then twain the lights. As an epic, it begins with an invocation to the muse, in this case, venus. Greek mythology is full of heroes, but the greatest of them all was perseus. There are several versions of how acrisius and perseus came to be in the same place at the same time, but in all of them, acrisius is accidentally killed by a discus thrown. Except for cetus, these constellations all lie north of the. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. Lucretiuss optical theory and doctrines of how the senses work seem rather convoluted and bizarre. Books four and five are largely about the effects of particular celestial. Thanks to the accidental survival in lucretius book 4 of two.
A couple of interesting deep sky objectscan be seen in perseus. Stars shown for brighter than 6 limiting magnitude, star names labels shown for stars brighter than 4 limiting magnitude, bayerflamsteed code labels shown for stars brighter than 5 limiting magnitude. In 2006, perseus became the location of the largest supernova on record when a star 100200 times more massive than the sun exploded. The constellation s brightest star, alpha persei, is a bit brighter. What are the names of the ancient constellations in latin. On the nature of the universe book 4 throughout the first three books of on the nature of the universe lucretius walks a thin line between philosophy, science and poetry. Or else because some air, streaming along from an eternal quarter off beyond, whileth the driven fires, or, then, because the fires themselves have power to creep along, going wherever their food invites.
Luckily, perseus came on the scene just in the nick of time and killed the sea monster and saved the princess. In greek mythology, perseus was the son of zeus and danae, daughter of acrisius, the king of argos. Perseus constellation simple english wikipedia, the. He describes the way we see things as images of things which are perpetually peeled off the surface of. For a more detailed description of the contents of each book, please consult. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a.
In classical greek mythology, perseus beheaded the snakeheaded medusa to save the princess andromeda from a nasty sea monster. The constellation was named after the mythical hero perseus. Constellation perseusconstellation perseus named after. Back in fifth century greece, four hundred years before lucretius, it was still. Refutation of a possible objection to the teaching of i5926412 265328. Perseus is located in the milky way and covers an area of 615 square degrees. Instructions on using this constellation sky map on the above constellation map click on adjacent contellations to view them. Originally a beautiful maiden, medusa was transformed into a hideous monster by the goddess minerva. Constellation perseus the constellations on sea and sky. Lucretiuss denunciations in the fourth book4 are unmistakable. Ross exton of the live science team shows you how to find the constellation, along with algol the demon star. Perseus was the son of the greek god zeus and the mortal princess danae. Its the center from which the annual perseid meteor shower, a midsummer spectacle.
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