Perseus

stars · Greek mythology · northern sky

A hero's pattern. Perseus is one of the 48 ancient constellations that the Greek astronomer Ptolemy listed almost 2,000 years ago, and it's still one of the 88 official constellations we use today.

Located near legend. Perseus sits in the northern sky surrounded by other constellations based on Greek myths, including Andromeda to the west and Cassiopeia to the north, which are all part of the same exciting story.

Mythical neighbors. The constellation borders many other star patterns like Aries, Taurus, Auriga, Camelopardalis, and Triangulum, creating a whole region of the sky packed with named constellations.

Medusa's head. Some old star maps from the 1800s showed Perseus holding the severed head of Medusa as a trophy, and they even called it 'Perseus et Caput Medusae' together, though most people never adopted that name.