Sky watch: Unraveling convoluted yarns told of the stars

Did you ever wonder what people did before they had television? Well, before TV, there was radio. And before radio - long before radio - there was the sky.

It's quite likely that the constellations began as mechanisms by which ancient people could tell stories. In fact, several such star groupings depicting one of the most interesting of all such yarns appear now shortly after dark.

This story features a lovely young girl named Andromeda, princess of Ethiopia, and her parents - Cepheus, the king, and Cassiopeia, the queen. Because of her magnificent beauty, Cassiopeia was terribly conceited and bragged that she was far more beautiful than Juno, queen of the gods. To avenge this insult, Neptune sent a sea monster - possibly Cetus, the whale - to ravage the Ethiopian coast.

Horrified by the unfolding events, King Cepheus learned that he could appease Neptune by sacrificing his beautiful daughter to the sea monster, so he arranged for Andromeda to be chained to a rock on the coast, fully exposed to the wrath of the beast. Had there been television back then, I suspect this surprising turn of events might have marked a great place for dramatic music followed by the words "To be continued . . . "

Fortunately for Andromeda, Perseus was flying by on his steed, Pegasus, when he saw her chained to the rock. Amazed by her beauty, he fell in love and cried out: "You should not be wearing such chains as these; the proper bonds for you are those which bind the hearts of fond lovers. Tell me your name . . . and why you are in chains."

She revealed her identity and how her mother had been too vain about her own beauty. As she spoke, the sea monster rose from the deep, and the girl screamed in terror.

Perseus shouted to her parents that he'd slay the monster if they would let him marry their daughter. Of course, they consented. Perseus killed the monster, freed Andromeda, and they were married.

Today, each of these characters is immortalized in the stars. To find them, simply go outdoors and gaze northeast and east after dark.