Pegasus constellation
Latin Pegasus, genitive Pegasi, abbreviation Peg
North up, east to the left, as you see the sky. The lines are a common figure; the stars are from the catalogue.
The myth
The winged horse, sprung from the blood of Medusa; where its hoof struck, the spring of the Muses welled up. Its great square stands high in the south on autumn evenings, with Andromeda hanging from one corner. Around the star 51 Pegasi the first planet of a sun-like star was found in 1995.
When can Pegasus be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in September. It can be seen from everywhere north of 59°S, and it never sets north of 84°N.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enif | ε Peg | 2.39 | reddish |
| Scheat | β Peg | 2.42 | reddish |
| Markab | α Peg | 2.49 | bluish |
| Algenib | γ Peg | 2.83 | bluish |
| Matar | η Peg | 2.94 | yellow |
| Homam | ζ Peg | 3.40 | bluish |
| Sadalbari | μ Peg | 3.48 | yellow |
| Biham | θ Peg | 3.53 | white |
The smaller the number, the brighter: below 1 are the brightest stars of the sky, 4 is hard to see under a city sky. Greek letters after Johann Bayer (1603).