If you were among the countless numbers of people who spent time last week looking for Perseid meteors, you doubt took notice of a striking stellar arrangement in the northeastern part of the sky: A zigzag row of five bright stars marking the Queen of Ethiopia, Cassiopeia.
Few star patterns have a shape so easy to remember: a neat "M" or "W" depending on its position and which way you're facing. The Greeks added a nearby additional fainter star to the five main stars, so that the six together outline Cassiopeia's Throne.
