What is "andromeda"

Andromeda \An*drom"e*da\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. When bound to a rock and exposed to a sea monster, she was delivered by Perseus.]

1. (Astron.) A northern constellation, supposed to represent the mythical Andromeda.

2. (bot.) A genus of ericaceous flowering plants of northern climates, of which the original species was found growing on a rock surrounded by water.

constellation, 1667 (earlier Andromece, mid-15c.); in classical mythology the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, from Greek, literally "mindful of her husband," from andros, genitive of aner "man" (see anthropo-) + medesthai "to be mindful of, think on," related to medea (neuter plural) "counsels, plans, devices, cunning" (and source of the name Medea).

n. 1 Any shrub of the genus ''Pieris'' (family Ericaceae), having leathery leaves and small flowers. 2 bog rosemary.

1. n. broad-leaved evergreen Asiatic shrub with glossy leaves and drooping clusters of white flowers [syn: Japanese andromeda, lily-of-the-valley tree, Pieris japonica]

2. any of several shrubs of the genus Andromeda having leathery leaves and clusters of small flowers

3. a constellation in the northern hemisphere between Cassiopeia and Pegasus; contains the Andromeda Galaxy

In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of the Aethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia's hubris leads her to boast that Andromeda is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends a sea monster, Cetus, to ravage Aethiopia as divine punishment. Andromeda is stripped and chained naked to a rock as a sacrifice to sate the monster, but is saved from death by Perseus.

Her name is the Latinized form of the Greek (Androméda) or (Andromédē): "ruler of men", from (anēr, andrós) "man", and medon, "ruler".

As a subject, Andromeda has been popular in art since classical times; it is one of several Greek myths of a Greek hero's rescue of the intended victim of an archaic hieros gamos (sacred marriage), giving rise to the " princess and dragon" motif. From the Renaissance, interest revived in the original story, typically as derived from Ovid's account.

Andromeda (formally titled Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda) is a Canadian/ American science fiction television series, based on unused material by Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett. It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt. The series premiered on October 2, 2000, and ended on May 13, 2005.

Andromeda was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and produced by Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment. It was distributed by Global TV (Fireworks' parent company) in Canada and syndicated in the United States on WGN and other channels. It was picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel in the U.S. halfway through season four. Andromeda is one of two TV series (to date) based on concepts Roddenberry had created as early as the 1960s and 1970s. The name Dylan Hunt had also been used for the hero of three TV movie pilots Roddenberry had produced in the mid-1970s, Genesis II, Strange New World, and Planet Earth, both of which had a similar premise.

Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Located north of the celestial equator, it is named for Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia, in the Greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus. Andromeda is most prominent during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, along with several other constellations named for characters in the Perseus myth. Because of its northern declination, Andromeda is visible only north of 40° south latitude; for observers farther south it lies below the horizon. It is one of the largest constellations, with an area of 722 square degrees. This is over 1,400 times the size of the full moon, 55% of the size of the largest constellation, Hydra, and over 10 times the size of the smallest constellation, Crux.

Its brightest star, Alpha Andromedae, is a binary star that has also been counted as a part of Pegasus, while Gamma Andromedae is a colorful binary and a popular target for amateur astronomers. Only marginally dimmer than Alpha, Beta Andromedae is a red giant, its color visible to the naked eye. The constellation's most obvious deep-sky object is the naked-eye Andromeda Galaxy (M31, also called the Great Galaxy of Andromeda), the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way and one of the brightest Messier objects. Several fainter galaxies, including M31's companions M110 and M32, as well as the more distant NGC 891, lie within Andromeda. The Blue Snowball Nebula, a planetary nebula, is visible in a telescope as a blue circular object.

In Chinese astronomy, the stars that make up Andromeda were members of four different constellations that had astrological and mythological significance; a constellation related to Andromeda also exists in Hindu mythology. Andromeda is the location of the radiant for the Andromedids, a weak meteor shower that occurs in November.

Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale a.k.a. Andromeda Nebula (, Tumannost' Andromedy) is a science fiction novel by the Soviet writer and paleontologist Ivan Yefremov, written and published in 1957. The novel was made into a film in 1967, The Andromeda Nebula.

Efremov's 1958 short story " The Heart of the Serpent" and 1968 novel The Bull's Hour, which is set in the same universe taking place some 200 years later, are considered as its sequels.

Andromeda, in comics, may refer to:

• Andromeda (DC Comics), the codename of the Legion of Super-Heroes member Laurel Gand
• Andromeda (Marvel Comics), a native of Atlantis and member of the Defenders
• Andromeda (Pantheon), a member of the superhero family the Pantheon

Andromeda most commonly refers to:

• Andromeda (constellation), a region of the Earth's night sky
• The Andromeda Galaxy, an astronomical object within the constellation
• Andromeda (mythology), a princess from Greek mythology

Andromeda may also refer to:

Andromeda Attumasen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a member of Homo mermanus, the race that occupies the Atlantis of Marvel's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.

Andromeda were an English progressive rock group, that formed in 1966. However, soon after formation, the band changed lineup, and led by John Du Cann a new line-up recorded their eponymous album in 1969 with backing vocals by Eddie Dyche.

The group split upon Du Cann's departure to join Atomic Rooster in 1970.

Du Cann, Hawksworth and Collins also comprised the one-off studio band The Five Day Week Straw People. Hawksworth later briefly joined Killing Floor.

Andromeda is a progressive metal band from Sweden formed in 1999. They are currently signed to Massacre Records, Replica Records and Avalon/Marquee. The style emphasizes on strong keyboards and technical drumming. The band is also well known for the smooth vocals of David Fremberg.

They have recorded five albums as of 2011, as well as a live DVD. There are two versions of their first album, Extension of the Wish. The original recording features their first vocalist Lawrence Mackrory. The second version has all of the original instrument tracks, but with their replacement vocalist David Fremberg. The most recent album Manifest Tyranny was released in late 2011.

Andromeda (, Androméda) is a lost tragedy written by Euripides, based on the myth of Andromeda and first produced in 412 BC, in a trilogy that also included Euripides' Helen. Andromeda may have been the first depiction on stage of a young man falling in love with a woman. The play has been lost; however, a number of fragments are extant. In addition, a number of ancient sources refer to the play, including several references in plays by Aristophanes.

The modern constellation Andromeda lies across two of the quadrants, symbolized by the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ) and the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ), that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 仙女座 (xiān nǚ zuò), meaning "the immortal woman / fairy constellation".