What is special about the constellation Andromeda?

What is special about the constellation Andromeda?

Its most notable feature is the great Andromeda Galaxy, one of the nearest galaxies to Earth and one of the few galaxies visible to the unaided eye. Andromeda is named after the princess of Ethiopia whom, according to Greek mythology, the hero Perseus saved from sacrifice to the sea monster Cetus.

What is the myth of Andromeda constellation?

Perseus killed the monster and freed the princess. Andromeda insisted on keeping the promise made by her parents and married Perseus. As a reward, the goddess Athena (who had been helping Perseus to defeat the Medusa) placed an image of Andromeda in the stars.

What is the brightest star in the Andromeda constellation?

It’s Alpheratz, the brightest star in the constellation Andromeda. In fact, many people use this star to locate the Andromeda Galaxy in the night sky. While it appears as a single star to the unaided eye, Alpheratz is actually a tight double star system.

Is Andromeda a star or galaxy?

What is the goddess Andromeda known for?

Andromeda, in Greek mythology, beautiful daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiope of Joppa in Palestine (called Ethiopia) and wife of Perseus. Cassiope offended the Nereids by boasting that Andromeda was more beautiful than they, so in revenge Poseidon sent a sea monster to devastate Cepheus’ kingdom.

What is Andromeda best known for?

The most famous one of these is the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest full-fledged galaxy to the Milky Way. Andromeda is currently about 2.5 million light-years from the Milky Way, and the two galaxies are on a collision course; a few billion years from now, they will smash into each other.

Why did Athena put Andromeda in the sky?

Upon her death, Andromeda was honored by Athena who placed the beautiful Queen on the sky as a constellation to be looked at forever. Next to her, Athena placed her beloved husband, Perseus, and her parents, Cepheus and Cassiopeia.

Was Andromeda a black myth?

In Greek mythology, Andromeda was originally depicted as a black princess from Ethiopia, but Renaissance art repeatedly depicts her as white.

Can the earth survive a collision with Andromeda?

Andromeda–Milky Way collision The merger will totally alter the night sky over Earth but will likely leave the solar system unharmed, according to NASA.

Which is bigger Milky Way or Andromeda?

because the Andromeda-Milky Way collision has already begun. The reason the collision is happening a few billion years ahead of schedule is that the Andromeda Galaxy is much bigger than it appears. The galaxy’s bright, starry disk is about 120,000 light years in diameter, making it slightly larger than the Milky Way.

Which is bigger Milky Way VS Andromeda?

And it stretches more than 200,000 light-years in diameter. That’s significantly bigger than the Milky Way, which more recent estimates suggest is 150,000 light-years across (though the exact boundary of where either of these galaxies “end” is a bit nebulous).

What is the closest star to Earth in Andromeda?

The brightest star in the constellation is Alpha Andromedae, also known by its traditional name, Alpheratz. The nearest star is Ross 248 (spectral class M6V), also known as HH Andromedae. It lies at a distance of only 10.30 light years from Earth. The constellation Andromeda contains nine named stars.

Does Andromeda have a black hole?

Astronomers confirm intermediate-mass black hole in Andromeda galaxy. Astronomers at the University of Utah have confirmed an intermediate-mass black hole, an elusive rarity long sought by scientists. The object is hidden in B023-G078, a star cluster in the Andromeda galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy.

Is life possible in Andromeda Galaxy?

Can the Andromeda Galaxy support life? Since we can’t yet say for certain whether there are any other stars in our own galaxy that host life, it is even harder to say whether there might be life, or at least the conditions for life, in another galaxy.

What is the largest constellation?

The biggest constellation in the sky, Hydra (pictured right), stretches across this huge expanse, covering 102 degrees. Named after a mythical water snake, the constellation’s head sits in the northern celestial sphere while its tail stretches into the southern one.

What does Andromeda Galaxy symbolize?

The stars that make up Pisces and the middle portion of modern Andromeda formed a constellation representing a fertility goddess, sometimes named as Anunitum or the Lady of the Heavens. Andromeda is known as “the Chained Lady” or “the Chained Woman” in English.

What is unusual about the Andromeda Galaxy?

The Andromeda Galaxy has a past involving collisions with and accretion of other galaxies. Its peculiar close companion, M32, shows a structure that indicates that it was formerly a normal, more massive galaxy that lost much of its outer parts and possibly all of its globular clusters to M31 in a past encounter.

What are the 5 incredible facts about the Andromeda Galaxy?

Quick M31 facts

• Constellation: Andromeda.
• Type: Spiral.
• Diameter: 220,000 light years.
• Distance: 2.54 million light-years.
• Mass: 400 to 700 billion solar masses.
• Age: 4.5 billion years.
• Stars: 1 trillion.
• Group: Local Group.