Located in the northern sky, the constellation Pegasus is named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology. Pegasus has a long history with it being 1 of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, with the IAU recognizing the constellation today.

With an apparent magnitude varying between 2.37 and 2.45, the brightest star in Pegasus is the orange supergiant Epsilon Pegasi, also known as Enif, which marks the horse’s muzzle. Several stars in the constellation form the large asterism known as the Square of Pegasus. 12 star systems have been found to have exoplanets.

 Its position in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere means that the whole constellation is visible to observers north of 53°S. It covers 1121 square degrees in the night sky, which makes Pegasus the 7th-largest of the 88 modern constellations.

	Applicable Information
Visibility In Pacific Northwest	June to January
Best Times To View	July and August
Right Ascension	21h 12.6m to  00h 14.6m
Declination	+2.33° to +36.61°
Area	1121 square degrees
Main Stars	9, 17
Brightest Object	Enif
Meteor showers	July Pegasids
Messier objects	1
Neighboring Constellations	Andromeda, Lacerta, Cygnus, Vulpecula, Delphinus, Equuleus, Aquarius, Pisces

Mythology

The Babylonian constellation IKU had 4 stars of which 3 were incorporated into of the Greek constellation Hippos, or Pegasus. Pegasus, in Greek mythology, was a winged horse with magical powers.

One myth regarding his powers says that his hooves dug out a spring, Hippocrene, which blessed those who drank its water with the ability to write poetry. Pegasus was born when Perseus cut off the head of Medusa, who was impregnated by the god Poseidon. He was born with Chrysaor from Medusa’s blood.

In ancient Persia, Pegasus was depicted by al-Sufi as a complete horse facing east, which meant that Pegasus was depicted as half of a horse, rising out of the ocean.

Chinese astronomy had Pegasus located in The Black Tortoise of the north, where the stars were classified in several separate asterisms of stars.

In Hindu astronomy, the Great Square of Pegasus contained the 26th and 27th lunar mansions, which represented a bedstead as a resting place for the Moon.

The Warrau and Arawak peoples in Guyana saw the stars in the Great Square, which correspond to parts of the modern constellations Pegasus and Andromeda, as a barbecue.

Stars

Bayer catalogued what he counted, which were 23 stars that would get Bayer designations, which corresponds to Alpha through Psi. There are now 89 stars with Flamsteed designations, although stars 6 and 11 turned out to be stars in Aquarius. Within the constellation’s borders there are 177 stars of apparent magnitude 6.5 or greater.

M15, otherwise known as NGC 7078 is a globular cluster of magnitude 6.4. It is a Shapley class IV cluster that it is fairly rich and concentrated towards its center.

 Discovered by musician-astronomer William Herschel in 1784, spiral galaxy NGC 7331 became 1 of the first nebulous objects to be described as “spiral.”

There are some unusual galaxies and exotic objects in the constellation. Einstein’s Cross is a quasar that has been lensed by a foreground galaxy. The lensed quasar resembles a cross as the gravitational force of the foreground galaxy on its light creates four images of the quasar.

Stephan’s Quintet is a cluster of five galaxies that is unique for its interacting galaxies. Two of the galaxies in the middle of the group have clearly begun to collide, sparking massive bursts of star formation and drawing off long “tails” of stars. Astronomers have predicted that all 5 galaxies may eventually merge into 1 large elliptical galaxy.

Make sure to check out other articles on the site, including a brief introduction to constellations, other constellation articles, and more!