Cassiopeia (Constellation)

Cassiopeia, the seated queen, is a circumpolar constellation of the northern hemisphere.

Cassiopeia was wife to King Cepheus of Aethiopia and mother to Andromeda. Queen Cassiopeia was vain an arrogant and proclaimed that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. The sea-god was angered by this and sent a sea monster, Cetus, to terrorize the King and Queen's subjects. The only way to stop Cetus was if Andromeda was sacificed to him. Andromeda was chained to the rocks in the sea to await her fate but was saved by the hero Perseus when he turned Cetus to stone with the severed head of Medusa.

Shedir (or Shedar or Schedar or Schedir) (Alpha Cassiopeiae / α Cas)

A K0 orange giant star 230ly from our solar system

Caph (Beta Cassiopeia / β Cas)

An F2 class star with an apparent brightness of magnitude 2.27

Navi (or Cih or Tsih) (Gamma Cassiopeiae / γ Cas)

The middle star of the 'W' of Cassiopeia. An optical double and Be-type star, Gamma Cassiopeiae is also a spectroscopic binary with a companion star about the same size as the Sun.

Ruchbah (or Rucha or Rukbah) (Delta Cassiopeiae / δ Cas)

An A5 class star about 100ly from Earth

Segin (Epsilon Cassiopeiae / ε Cas)

A blue-white B3 class giant star 440ly from Earth

Achird (Eta Cassiopeiae / η Cas)

A G type dwarf star similar to the sun

M52 (NGC 7654)

Discovered in 1774 by Charles Messier this cluster has an apparent magnitude of +7.3

M103 (NGC 581)

Discovered in 1781 by Pierre Mechain, M103 is a type-d open cluster with an apparent magnitude of +7.4 and lies at a distance of 8500ly from Earth

NGC 103

Open cluster with an apparent magnitude of +9.8

NGC 129

An open cluster located between beta and gamma Cassiopeiae

NGC 133

A type IV1p cluster with an apparent magnitude of +9.4

NGC 146

A very loose open cluster

NGC 189

Discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel this cluster has an apparent magnitude of +8.8

NGC 225 (Sailboat Cluster)

An open cluster discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787 with an apparent magnitude of +7

NGC 381

Discovered in 1787 by William Herschel this open cluster has an apparent magnitude of +9.4

NGC 457 (Owl Cluster or ET Cluster / Caldwell 13)

An open cluster about 7900ly away, discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1787

NGC 559 (Caldwell 8)

Open cluster with an apparent magnitude of +9.5

NGC 609

Open cluster with an apparent magnitude of +11

NGC 637

Open cluster with an apparent magnitude of +8.2

NGC 654

An open cluster discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1787

NGC 659

Discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel this cluster has an apparent magnitude of +7.9

NGC 7788

A faint cluster with an apparent magnitude of +9

NGC 7789

An open cluster discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel

NGC 7790

An open cluster with an apparent magnitude of +8.5

IC 59 and IC 63 (Sharpless 2-185)

This pair of arc-shaped emission/reflection nebulae are collectively known as Sharpless 2-185 and are associated with the star γ Cas

IC 289

A planetary nebula discovered by Lewis Swift in 1888

Heart Nebula (IC 1805)

An emission nebula (sometimes classed as a cluster associated with nebulosity) 7500ly away

Soul Nebula (IC 1848)

An emission nebula (sometimes classed as a cluster associated with nebulosity) 7500ly away. The Soul Nebula is the eastern neighbour of IC 1805

NGC 147

A dwarf elliptical galaxy which is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy. NGC 147 was discovered by John Herschel in 1829

NGC 185

A dwarf spheroidal galaxy which is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy and is 2.3 million light years from Earth

NGC 278

A spiral galaxy 38.5 million light years away

NGC 1343

A galaxy with an apparent magnitude of +12.3

Andromeda VII (Cassiopeia Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy)

A dwarf spheroidal galaxy associated with M31 galaxy in Andromeda. It is about 2.6 million light years away.

Cassiopeia shares its borders with the following constellations: Cepheus, Lacerta, Andromeda, Perseus and Camelopardalis