If you thought that the fish we caught on the Planet of Technology was big, just wait until you catch a glimpse of the sea monster known as Cetus! I wouldn’t want to catch him on a fishing expedition!

The Cetus (also known as “Whale”) constellation is located in the Southern Sky. It is a very large, but dim constellation which makes it hard to find with the naked eye.

So, we need to find a few stellar landmarks to help us spot this leviathan (really big creature). The beautiful  variable star Mira glows red as it rides on the Whale’s back near it’s fin. If you look closely you’ll be able to spot  Tau Ceti, the third nearest star visible to the naked eye, near the Whale’s mouth.

According to Greek legend, the Whale is under orders by Poseidon to eat Andromeda, so the Whale is swimming south of that constellation, separated from his chained victim by the Fishes (another constellation).

I always find it interesting how different people see different things in the sky.  For example,  Arab astronomers saw two pearl necklaces among the stars of Cetus: one pearl necklace was fully tied together and undamaged, but the other pearl necklace was broken and its pearls were scattered.Yet another generation of Arabs, like the ancient Hebrews and Greeks, portrayed an enormous Leviathan-like sea creature among the stars of Cetus.

What pictures do you see when you look up into the night sky?