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Perseus (The Hero)
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Constellations Visible in Canadian Skies
Select a constellation from the list below to learn more:
Aquarius
Aquila
Aries
Auriga
Boötes
Cancer
Canis Major
Canis Minor
Capricornus
Cassiopeia
Cygnus
Gemini
Hercules
Hydra
Libra
Leo
Lyra
Orion
Perseus
Pisces
Sagittarius
Scorpius
Taurus
Ursa Minor and Ursa Major
Virgo
Legend
Perseus led a very exciting life. One of his first adventures was to slay the Medusa, a hideous woman with snakes for hair who could turn people into stone with one glance. Perseus cleverly used his shining shield as a mirror, so that he could attack the Medusa without looking directly at her. Perseus cut off the Medusa's head, and from her blood the winged horse Pegasus was born. Perseus was flying home on Pegasus when he saw Andromeda. The princess was chained to a rock and about to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus. Perseus killed the sea monster and rescued Andromeda, whom he later married. After many happy years together, they died and were put into the sky by the gods.
The second brightest star in Perseus is Algol. Known as "the ghoul" or "the demon," it marks the head of the Medusa. About every three days, Algol suddenly gets much dimmer, and then brightens up again a few hours later. This happens because Algol is actually two stars going around each other. One of the stars is much larger and much dimmer than the other. When it passes in front of its brighter companion, we see Algol get dimmer.
