Equuleus Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

Equuleus is one of the 48 constellations first described by the astronomer or Greco-Egyptian Claudius Ptolemy; this constellation appears in the Almagest, the complete stellar catalog of antiquity.

Ptolemy often referred to this constellation as "Equus Primus," which means "The First Horse" because this group of stars comes out before Pegasus in the sky as night enters.

In Greek mythology, Equuleus is the name of the colt Celeris (meaning "speed"), who was a descendant or brother of the famous winged horse Pegasus.

In the myth, Mercury gives the horse Celeris to Castor Celeris to accompany him on his adventures; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus and the king of Sparta.

And in honor of his work Equuleus was placed in the stars by Zeus.

Equuleus remains with only 72 square degrees, the second smallest constellation in the night sky.

In popular culture, Equuleus is briefly mentioned in Martha Speaks' episode "Dogs in Space" as one of the favorite constellations of Helen Lorraine's character.

In scientific research, it is one of the regions with the lowest density of deep-sky bodies. Hence, the interest is limited to the stars that make it up, which are not many compared to other constellations.

The constellation Equuleus resides in the fourth quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere (NQ4), at latitudes between 80° S and 90 ° N, which means we can see the constellation in the night sky in every country in the world, including Antarctica.

Equuleus is visible in the US, Europe, Russia, Asia, China, and Japan.

In the south, Equuleus is visible in all countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.

Equuleus is a constellation near the north pole, so it is visible throughout the year for the northern hemisphere countries; the best time to see it is in September.

For the southern hemisphere countries, a section of the constellation is no longer seen in spring. Still, in general, it is one of the constellations with the most excellent permanence in the sky.

To locate the constellation Equuleus, you must look north of the celestial vault.

Equuleus is a small constellation with very faint stars. You will probably have to use binoculars to find it if you live in an urban area or with light pollution.

In terms of navigation, the best way to find the constellation Equuleus is to draw an imaginary line from the star Altair of the constellation Aquila to the star Enif of the constellation Pegasus. Equuleus is between the two constellations.

The constellations bordering Equuleus are Aquarius, Delphinus, and Pegasus.

In addition, the constellation Equuleus belongs to the family of constellations of the Celestial Waters; these include Columba, Delphinus, Eridanus, Piscis Austrinus, Puppis, Pyxis, and Vela.

Officially Equuleus has only 16 stars within its limits, one of the constellations with the fewest stars of all.

Of the total stars, only 3 form the central figure of the constellation; these are Kitalpha, Delta Equulei, and Gamma Equulei.

It is the brightest star in the constellation Equuleus, with an apparent magnitude of +3.92. Kitalpha is a nearby binary star consisting of Kitalpha A and Kitalpha B.

• Kitalpha A is a yellow giant star of spectral type G0III with a temperature of 5500 K and 45 times brighter than the sun.
• Kitalpha B is a white main-sequence star, type A5V, with a temperature of 8500 K and 30 times more luminous than the Sun.

Gamma Equulei is a variable star that lies at a distance of 118 light-years from Earth and is visible to the naked eye with a visual magnitude of 4.7.

γ Equulei suffers from speedy periodic brightness variations; because of this, it is a type of Ap star(group), meaning it oscillates rapidly on its axis.

Equuleus is also home to deep sky objects. Deep-sky objects are celestial bodies different from stars, such as nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies) or galaxies.

Equuleus only has four identifiable deep-sky bodies with magnitudes of 13 and 14. These are not visible with beginner telescopes:

• NGC 7015: Discovered by the French astronomer Édouard Stephan on September 29, 1878, a spiral galaxy located 203 million light-years from Earth.
• NGC 7040: Discovered by astronomer Mark Harrington on August 18, 1882, NGC 7040 is a spiral galaxy located 260 million light-years from the solar system.
• NGC 7046: Barred spiral galaxy located 193 million light-years from Earth. NGC 7046 has an apparent size of 0.990 arcmins. It has an estimated diameter of 192,639 light-years, meaning it is larger than the Milky Way.

• Equuleus is a constellation of the northern celestial hemisphere; its name is Latin and means "little horse."
• Although it is in the Northern Hemisphere, Equuleus can see from all world countries, including Antarctica.
• The best month to see the constellation Equuleus is in September.
• The brightest star of Equuleus is Kitalpha (Kitalphar / α Equulei / α Equ) which has a magnitude of+3.92.
• The best way to find the constellation Equuleus is to trace an imaginary line from the star Altair of the constellation Aquila to the lead Enif of Pegasus.
• Equuleus is in the middle of the road between the two constellations.
• Equuleus does not have any associated meteor showers.

1. https://www.universetoday.com/20711/equuleus-constellation/
2. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/equuleus-constellation/
3. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-equuleus.html
4. https://theplanets.org/constellations/equuleus-constellation/
5. https://theskylive.com/sky/constellations/equuleus-constellation