Cassiopeia

• Cassiopeia is a distinctive ‘W’ shaped Constellation in the Night Sky, named after Queen Cassiopeia in Greek Mythology.
• It is one of the 48 Constellations listed by the Greco-Roman Astronomer Ptolemy in the second century CE Work called Ptolemy's Almagest.

Use in Celestial Navigation

• Two of the Stars in Cassiopeia point towards the Pole Star, helping the navigator to find True North.

Method

• From Cassiopeia, on the opposite side of the Pole Star, is Ursa Major (The Plough or Big Dipper).
• Once these two Constellations have been identified, it becomes easy to identify the other nearby Stars and Constellations, depending on the time of year.