Pegasus has some interesting deep-sky objects, including a group of galaxies, a unique quasar, and a galaxy that must be the location of Superman’s home planet. Let’s draw upon this 7th largest constellation and learn more about the night sky!
Who is Pegasus?
One day Pegasus the beautiful, white, winged horse drank peacefully from the Spring of Peirene in ancient Corinth. Pegasus sensed Bellerophon’s presence long before he stepped into the clearing. Unconcerned by the surprise approach, the winged horse confidently lapped up the fresh water. Pegasus had escaped capture many times at the hand of far more eager captors than a single mortal. His speed and agility remained unmatched. So Pegasus just waited, as Bellerophon approached, not offering even a second glance toward the man.
Had the horse looked over for more than a second, he would have noticed a simple golden bridle—a gift from the goddess Athena—clutched in Bellerophon’s hand. Bellerophon moved quickly, and lashed out at the horse’s head with the golden bridle. Amazed by the unusual ease with which the bridle made its way around the horse’s muzzle, Bellerophon found himself jumping astride Pegasus without any struggle.
Soon the hero had tamed the legendary horse which was nothing short of a miracle. The two went on to accomplish amazing feats, including killing the dreaded Chimaera. Emboldened by His successes Bellerophon ordered Pegasus to fly him to Mount Olympus. The proud hero would claim for himself a place among the gods.
Higher and higher the pair flew, rising above the clouds. Zeus looked down from above, angered by the mortal’s arrogance. In response, the god sent down nothing more than a mere gadfly. The little pest latched onto the horse. The small sting caused the winged horse to suddenly throw the rider from his seat. A fall from such a height proved that Bellerophon would never reach mount Olympus. Pegasus, on the other hand, would join Zeus’ stable, carry the god’s lightning bolts, and eventually earn his place in the stars…
That’s more or less pegasus’ story. I took some creative liberty with the narrative but I hit most of the main points that occur in his mythology. It’s always fun to know some stories, especially if you’re stargazing with friends. So with that background, let’s take a look at the constellation.
When Can I See Pegasus?
Pegasus is a fall constellation. It can be seen from September to January. It reaches its early night culmination in late October. That’s when it will be highest in the night sky at around 9 or 10 pm.
Where Can I Find Pegasus?
Pegasus is a pretty easy constellation to find, just remember it will be fairly large and spread out in the sky. Look for 4 bright stars in the shape of a square. Below that is Pisces, which covers a relatively dark part of the sky. Above Pegasus, and slightly more westward, you will see the constellation Cygnus, which can be identified as an asterism (or star pattern) that looks like a cross. Look up for long enough and you’re sure to see the Great Square of Pegasus. That’s the name of the asterism that makes up the four brightest stars. With enough practice, you’ll also be able to see the stars that denote Pegasus’ two front legs and his neck and head.
Celestial Objects in Pegasus
Alpheratz is the brightest star in the Square of Pegasus. To greek astronomers, it actually belonged to both Andromeda and Pegasus. In 1922, when the modern constellation boundaries were defined, Andromeda snagged Alpheratz, so it’s technically not part of Pegasus anymore. Beta Pegasi (or Scheat, meaning “the shin”) is now the Pegasus’ brightest star. It has an apparent magnitude of about 2.40.
Other stars that are good to know include:
- Markab, which is another star in the great square, and is Arabic for “saddle”
- Enif, marking the horse’s muzzle, which is Arabic for “nose”
Last but certainly not least, here are the top 3 deep-sky objects to look for with your telescope. These are the 3 brightest objects with an apparent magnitude less than 12, so with good conditions, you should be able to find these using most amateur telescopes. I use a 130 mm telescope, and I love it (link below).
M15 (Pegasus Cluster)
Coming in at a magnitude of 6.30, you could almost see this fuzzy patch of light with the unaided eye. It is one of the oldest known globular clusters, estimated to be about 12.5 billion years old. Even though it has such a bright apparent magnitude, this cluster is roughly 32,000 ly away.
The Deer Lick Group
This is a collection of 5 Galaxies, with NGC 7331 being the most prominent. NGC 7331 is an unbarred spiral galaxy with an apparent magnitude of about +9.48. Although these galaxies look close together from our perspective they are not an actual galaxy group, meaning they are not at all within each other’s gravitational fields. They look like neighbors from our perspective, but they’re actually quite far away from each other—even by galaxy standards.
Superman Galaxy (NGC 7479)
The Superman Galaxy is a beautiful (backward) “S” shaped barred spiral galaxy home to intense star-forming activity. Its magnitude is about 10.85, and in my opinion, is probably where superman’s home planet Krypton is located. Just saying.
Now we can’t end a discussion on Pegasus without mentioning Einstein’s Cross. While you won’t be able to see it from your backyard. NASA has spotted something very peculiar, near the border of Pegasus and Aquarius. What looks like 5 star clusters is actually 1 gravitationally lensed quasar. In other words, it’s one very bright galactic nucleus covered by another galaxy in such a way that the light from the quasar is bent and reflected around the much nearer galaxy creating the illusion of 4 quasars. The pictures of it are very cool.
Let me know in the comments if you are able to find pegasus or any of its deep-sky objects.
Look up, keep learning, and remember to smile.
Image Sources
Einstein Crosses Diagram
, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons
IAU Chart
IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg), CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
NGC 7331
Ngc1535, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
NGC 7479
NASA Hubble, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
M15
Ngc1535, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Einstein Cross
NASA, ESA, and STScI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
