Description
The mythical character of the ancient Ethiopian queen Cassiopeia is very popular among lovers of ancient myths, as is the constellation itself - a recognizable and beautiful five-stellation, shining in the northern skies all year round. It never sets below the horizon and every night seems to remind us of those distant and, I will not hide, sad events. Over the course of thousands of years, there has been a lot of bad in the history of mankind, but for the most part, these sad stories, and along with them the happy ones, were lost in the darkness of centuries. But the legend of Queen Cassiopeia has reached our days. It has reached because there is something unusual and mystical in it. You and I know that in addition to the magical and mysterious interpretation, there will always be the simplest one, but people are attracted by mystery and illusion, so reality is always waiting in the wings in a long line of hypotheses and ideas.
Like the once successful Theseus, we too will pull the long chain of events of Ariadne's guiding thread-ball, and perhaps we will get to the bottom of it. We will find out who added this hefty spoonful of mysticism to the vessel of life of Queen Cassiopeia.
A person's life is like a moment, a spark of a fire, a falling star. For us, the inhabitants of the industrial era, it may be useful to compare it to the exposure of a photograph, when some light-sensitive material (our soul) is illuminated by the light of the universe for only hundredths of a universal second, but after a moment it is dark again. And, mind you, during this time the world practically does not change, but the light-sensitive emulsion is filled with the light of the world, is exposed, and the imprint of a stable, unchanging world remains in the frame forever.
This is almost always the case. However, there are exceptions - the frame is blurred by the transience of events and the illusory nature of optical distortions. Cassiopeia's life was as bright and fleeting as the fall of her empire, which fell to her lot in the lottery of fates and events.
When the first ray of light refracted in the crystals of her unchildishly large and beautiful dark brown eyes, it brought to her consciousness the news of a beautiful world filled with goodness and happiness. She is young and probably as beautiful as the smiling face bending over her. She tries to understand what this woman is telling her and reaches out to her with her thin, graceful hands...
Time flies inexorably. Cassiopeia learns that she is a princess, the hope of Ethiopia and, at the same time, the dream and target of young princes and widowed gray-haired kings of neighboring states. At the beginning of each Moon, caravans rich in gold and jewels, as the desert is rich in sand, arrive at the palace. This is a recognition of the power of Ethiopia, but more a compliment to the young princess and a not very ambiguous hint about the intentions of the "generous" guest. Cassiopeia accepts all applicants. Politics and diplomacy require politeness. But the heart chooses not wealth and power, but the modesty and sophistication of Cepheus. She notices a spark of passion and torment in his eyes (he really loves her). But she also notices that someone is constantly holding his breath behind the secret door in her chambers, to which even she, the princess, does not have the key...
The court priest and astrologer Fraud was only the fourth figure in the palace. Formally, he was not involved in governing the country and considered himself above it, but no decision was made without his participation, and although the king did not always agree with the priest's opinion, he still did not risk arguing with him. However, the other inhabitants of the palace also felt uncomfortable in his presence. Only young Cassiopeia did not hide her eyes at the marble floor of the hall when meeting with the astrologer.
That didn't make them friends, and it couldn't have been - Fraud was younger than her father, but not so much as to seem like an older brother.
Perhaps, sometimes the contemptuous attitude towards the priest crossed conventional boundaries, but Cassiopeia would have been more careful if she had known that in the unfolding dramatic scenario she had been cast as the prey...
Yours Andrey Klimkovsky
Many people know and have seen more than once a chain of stars in the sky that resembles the letter "M" in some months and "W" in others. This is Cassiopeia, or more precisely its five brightest stars. The constellation itself is somewhat larger and occupies about 600 square degrees in the sky. In this area, an observer without binoculars or a telescope can count about 90 stars, most of which were visible in the sky 1000 years ago. But sometimes even the sky changes. So in November 1572, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe noticed a new star in this constellation. And not just noticed, but one could say he was blinded by the unexpected luminary, whose brightness could only be compared to Venus during its best visibility. The star was so bright that some people saw it even during the day, and through thick clouds, when other stars did not dare to shed their light on the Earth.
Two weeks later, the star's brightness began to fade, and after 15 months it completely disappeared from the eyes of earthly observers, who did not have any optical instruments at their disposal at that time.
In fact, a rather rare phenomenon has occurred in the Universe - a supernova explosion. This happens only to the most massive stars at the final stage of their existence. The star, burned out from the inside, loses its balance, and its cooling cold shell, under the influence of its own, and it should be noted, enormous, gravity, rushes to the center, where a sudden shock-like compression of this matter occurs, followed by an explosive expansion. The star throws off all the matter that can still escape its boundaries, and at this moment splashes out so much energy that the light of the star can be compared to the light emitted by an entire galaxy.
But after a few months, all that remains of the former giant is a dim core a few kilometers across, which continues to emit light for some time, but contracts as it cools. Over time, the star's contraction reaches such a stage that no matter or radiation can leave its surface. Astronomers call such objects in the Universe "black holes." They have been little studied, since it is very difficult to study completely invisible celestial bodies. But according to a number of scientific hypotheses, "black holes" may represent an entrance to another space and, perhaps, even time.
