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Perseus (abbr. Per, gen. Persei)
Perseus the Hero, and rescuer of Andromeda from the jaws of Cetus; a large northern constellation, bordering on Aries to the north and Taurus to the south. The figure of Perseus is thought to hold the head of Medusa in his hand (the star Beta Per representing her evil eye). As well as a number of interesting stars, most notably Algol, Perseus boasts the Little Dumbbell Nebula, the Double Cluster, and another large, bright open cluster, M34 (NGC 1039), which can be seen with the naked eye on a dark night and can be resolved by a small telescope even at low power (magnitude 5.5; diameter 35'; distance 1,400 light-years; R.A. 02h 42.0m, Dec. +42° 47'). See below for details of the constellation's brightest stars.
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| Perseus. © 2003 Torsten Bronger. Copied here under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 4.0 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star | Visual mag. |
Abs. mag. |
Spectral type |
Distance (lt-yr) |
R.A. (h m s) | Dec. ( ° ' '' ) |
| Alpha (Mirfak) | 1.79 | -4.51 | F5Ib | 592 | 03 24 19 | +49 51 40 |
| Beta (Algol) | 2.09v | -0.18 | B8V | 93 | 03 08 10 | +40 57 21 |
| Zeta | 2.84 | -4.56 | B1Ib | 982 | 03 54 08 | +31 53 01 |
| Epsilon | 2.90 | -3.10 | B0.5V+A2V | 538 | 03 57 51 | +40 00 37 |
| Gamma | 2.91 | -1.51 | G8III+A2V | 256 | 03 04 48 | +53 30 23 |
| Delta | 3.01 | -3.04 | B5III | 528 | 03 42 55 | +47 47 15 |
| Rho (Gorgonea Terti) | 3.32v | -1.68 | M3III | 325 | 03 05 11 | +38 50 25 |
| Eta (Miram) | 3.77 | -4.29 | K3Ib | 1,330 | 02 50 42 | +55 53 44 |
| Nu | 3.77 | -2.39 | F5II | 557 | 03 45 12 | +42 34 43 |
| Kappa (Misam) | 3.79 | 1.10 | K0III | 112 | 03 09 30 | +44 51 27 |
| Omicron (Atik) | 3.84 | -4.44 | B1III | 1,480 | 03 44 19 | +32 17 18 |
| Tau (Kerb) | 3.93 | -0.48 | G4II+A4VI | 248 | 02 54 15 | +52 45 45 |
| Xi (Menkib) | 3.98 | -4.70 | O7Iae | 1,770 | 03 58 58 | +35 47 28 |
| Constellations |
| Andromeda | Antlia | Apus | Aquarius | Aquila | Ara | Aries | Auriga | Bootes | Caelum | Camelopardalis | Cancer | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Capricornus | Carina | Cassiopeia | Centaurus | Cepheus | Cetus | Chamaeleon | Circinus | Columba | Coma Berenices | Corona Austrina | Corona Borealis | Corvus | Crater | Crux | Cygnus | Delphinus | Dorado | Draco | Equuleus | Eridanus | Fornax | Gemini | Grus | Hercules | Horologium | Hydra | Hydrus | Indus | Lacerta | Leo | Leo Minor | Lepus | Libra | Lupus | Lynx | Lyra | Mensa | Microscopium | Monoceros | Musca | Norma | Octans | Ophiuchus | Orion | Pavo | Pegasus | Perseus | Phoenix | Pictor | Pisces | Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Reticulum | Sagitta | Sagittarius | Scorpius | Sculptor | Scutum | Serpens | Sextans | Taurus | Telescopium | Triangulum | Triangulum Australe | Tucana | Ursa Major | Ursa Minor | Vela | Virgo | Volans | Vulpecula |
Related categories
• NOTABLE STARS
• NEBULAE AND STAR CLUSTERS
• GALAXIES
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