Pegasus Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

Pegasus was a winged horse that the gods could only ride in Greek mythology. However, the story in which it is most related is that of the hero Bellerophon.

The hero manages to ride the flying equine to defeat the Chimera in the myth. This multi-headed beast terrorized the villages.

AD'Bellerophon forced Pegasus to take him to Olympus, where the gods lived because he also wanted to be one. Still, Zeus saw him and sent a mosquito to bite Pegasus' back so that it would shake off and get rid of the intruder.

Thus Bellerophon fell to the earth where he was incapacitated. Pegasus remained in heaven with the gods, where he can still be seen in the stars.

In 1930 the Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte defined the official boundaries of the constellation Pegasus, a polygon of 35 segments covering an area of 1,121 square degrees of the sky. Since then, this figure has remained unchanged.

In 1922 the International Astronomical Union designated the three-letter abbreviation of Pegasus's constellation as "Peg."

Since its introduction, Pegasus has remained one of the 88 constellations, the seventh-largest constellation in the night sky.

Pegasus's constellation resides in the fourth quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere (NQ4), at latitudes between 60° S and 90° N, which means we can see the constellation in the night sky in every country in the world, the only except Antarctica.

Pegasus is visible in the USA, Europe, Russia, Asia, China, and Japan in the northern hemisphere.

In the south, Pegasus is visible in Brazil, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, or Indonesia, except Antarctica.

Pegasus is a constellation close to the north pole, so it is visible throughout the year for the northern hemisphere countries; however, October is the best month to see it.

For the southern hemisphere countries, a part of the constellation ceases to be visible during the spring.

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

Pegasus is one of the largest and brightest constellations, so it is straightforward to see in the night sky, even if you live in a city with a lot of artificial light around you.

In terms of navigation, the best way to locate the constellation Pegasus is to find the star Alpha Andromedae; this star is shared by the constellation Andromeda and the constellation Pegasus.

From the star Alpha Andromedae, you can locate the main quadrilateral that forms the figure of the Pegasus.

Pegasus constellations are Andromeda, Lacerta, Cygnus, Vulpecula, Delphinus, Equuleus, Aquarius and Pisces.

In addition, the constellation Pegasus belongs to the family of constellations of Perseus, along with Andromeda, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cetus, Lacerta, Perseus, and Triangulum.

Officially the pegasus station has 177 stars recognized by the International Astronomical Union.

In total, 13 stars are part of the central figure of Pegasus; these are Enif, Scheat. Markab, Algenib, Matar, Homam, Sadalbari, Baham, Iota Pegasi, Sadalpheris, Jih, Pi-1 Pegasi and Salm.

Enif is the brightest star in Pegasus's constellation with an apparent magnitude of +2.38.

It is an orange supergiant of spectral type K2Ib. It is at a distance of approximately 670 light-years from the solar system.

It is a red giant star of spectral type M2.5; it is the second brightest star in the constellation Pegasus with an apparent magnitude of +2.31.

It is located 199 light-years from earth and is 95 times larger than the sun.

Located at 140 light-years from Earth, Markab is a blue-white main-sequence star of spectral type B9.

It is the third brightest star in the constellation with an apparent magnitude of +2.49.

Pegasus is also home to several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects are celestial bodies different from stars, such as nebulae (body of interstellar clouds) or galaxies.

Pegasus is very rich in galaxies and star clusters.

Some of them are:

• Globular cluster M15 (NGC 7078): It has an apparent magnitude of +6.0 and has an estimated age of 12 billion years, making it one of the oldest known globular clusters.
• SNR G070.0-21.5: A supernova remnant strangely far from the galactic plane.
• NGC 7331: Spiral galaxy considered a twin of the Milky Way due to its remarkable resemblance. It has a visual magnitude of 10.4 and can be observed with beginner telescopes.
• NGC 1 and NGC 2: Both are spiral galaxies separated by 1.8 arc-mins.
• NGC 7332: Spiral galaxy.
• NGC 7479: A barred spiral galaxy of magnitude 11.6.
• NGC 7217: Spiral galaxy, but very compact in appearance.
• NGC 7742: A Seyfert galaxy of type 2.
• HCG 92 (Stephan's Quintet): Consists of five elliptical galaxies, of which four are gravitationally bound.
• Pegasus Dwarf Galaxy: Small irregular galaxy that appears to be part of the Local Group.

The constellation Pegasus has an associated meteor shower called "The Pegasids."

The Pegasids meteor shower occurs between July 7 and 13 and has its observation peak on September 7.

Research suggests that the Pegasids rain originates from comet C/1979 Y1(Bradfield).

• Pegasus is a constellation of the northern celestial hemisphere from Greek mythology. "Pegasus" was a white-winged horse that lived among the gods.
• Being in the northern hemisphere, the constellation Pegasus is visible in all countries; the only place where it is not visible is Antarctica.
• Pegasus is a circumpolar constellation of the north, meaning that it is visible all year round in the north. Still, the best month to see it is in October.
• Pegasus' brightest star is Enif (ε Pegasi / ε Peg) which has a magnitude of +2.38.
• The best way to locate the constellation Pegasus is to find the star Alpha Andromedae; this star is shared by the constellation Andromeda and the constellation Pegasus.
• From the star Alpha Andromedae, you can locate the principal quadrilateral that forms the figure of the Pegasus.
• Pegasus's most notable deep sky body is the spiral galaxy Globular Cluster M15 (NGC 7078).
• The most crucial shower of stars in the constellation Pegasus is "The Pegasids."

1. https://www.space.com/16743-constellation-pegasus.html
2. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/pegasus-constellation/
3. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-pegasus.html
4. https://earthsky.org/constellations/pegasus-the-winged-horse-autumn-skies/