DMI image reference Peg. « Previous || Next » Constellations A » H || Constellations I » V
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Image and text ©2008 Akira Fujii/David Malin Images.
In the picture above north is at the top and the image covers 41.9 x 52.3 degrees.
Image centre is located at 22:46:51.0, +20:51:38 (H:M:S, D:M:S, J2000) Astrometric data from Astrometry.net.
Best seen in the early evening in October
Pegasus represents a winged horse of Greek mythology, a figure that appears quite often, most spectacularly as the great winged steed of Bellerophon. The word Pegasus itself is derived from the Greek meaning 'strong'. Pegasus was the son of Neptune and Medusa the Gorgon, and sprang from the blood of his mother when her head had been severed by Perseus. Because Pegasus was considered a mortal, when he died he was placed in the heavens as a constellation by Zeus. Adjoining Pegasus is Equuleus, the foal.
The most distinctive part of constellation is the Great Square of Pegasus. Its northernmost star, Sirrah, was incorparated into Andromeda when the constellation boundaries were formalized in the 1930s; it used to be delta (δ) Pegasi. Because of its position in the sky, the first two objects in the New General Catalogue (NGC) appear in the Pegasus. NGC 1 and NGC 2 are distant, unremarkable galaxies, indeed this large constellation as a whole is remarkably devoid of any objects of interest to amateur astronomers, the notable exception being the globular cluster M15.
Named stars in Pegasus (Greek alphabet)
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Algenib (γ Peg), Baham (θ Peg), Enif (ε Peg), Homam (ζ Peg), Markab (α Peg), Matar (η Peg),
Salm (τ Peg), Scheat (β Peg),
Adjoining constellations:
Aquarius, Andromeda, Cygnus, Delphinus, Equuleus, Lacerta, Pisces, Vulpecula.