Pegasus (constellation)
- Lizard
- Swan
- Fox
- Dolphin
- Aquarius
- Pisces
- Andromeda
The Pegasus is a constellation just north of the celestial equator. It is best seen on the evening autumn sky and falls on the fact that four of its main stars nearly form a square.
Description
The Pegasus is a vast constellation in the autumn sky, which purports to be an upside-down flying horse. The stars γ, α, β and Sirrah form its body - which Sirrah actually belongs to Andromeda. The star ζ, θ and ε form the head and neck of the horse. These stars lead to the globular cluster M 15
History
Pegasus is one of the 48 constellations of the ancient astronomy, which were mentioned by Ptolemy.
51 Pegasi was the first star (after our Sun), in which a planetary system has been demonstrated. In the analysis of the spectrum revealed that the star is orbited by a planet the size of Jupiter.
Mythology
According to Greek mythology Pegasus was a winged horse that sprang from the neck of the deadly Medusa after Perseus struck off her head.
The winged horse escaped and was later captured by Bellerophon, who had numerous adventures with him. When Bellerophon but wanted to soar to the gods, he incurred the wrath of Zeus. Zeus sent out a brake which stung Pegasus. The horse shied and threw Bellerophon off the landed hard on the ground. Pegasus flew to Mount Olympus and bares the lightning of Zeus.
Celestial objects
Stars
α Pegasi is a 140 light-years distant, bluish shining star of spectral type B9. The name of the star Markabs α Pegasi is ancient Arabic origin and means "saddle".
Multiple stars
ε Pegasi is a triple star system 673 light-years away. The main star is extremely bright and has the strong 11-fold mass and the 175fachen diameter of our sun. 1972 was the star of an outburst, in which he was remarkably bright with 0.70 m. In the far distance of 138 arc seconds, there is a 7.8 m brighter companion star, which is already visible in the prism binoculars. For observation of the third component are telescope. The Arabic name Enif derives from " mouth" ( the horse ).
Variable Stars
β Pegasi is a Variable star in 199 light years away. It is a red giant at 200 times the sun's diameter. Its brightness varies in irregular periods from 2.4 to 3.0 m. The Arabic name Scheat means " front leg " ( the horse ).
γ Pegasi is a 333 light -years away pulsationsveränderlicher type star Beta Cephei. Its brightness changes only slightly over a period of 3 hours and 47 minutes. The Arabic name Algenib means " edge" ( the horse ).
Messier and NGC objects
The globular cluster M 15 is about 30,000 light- years away. In binoculars it appears as a misty patch. With a telescope of 15 cm aperture can resolve the clusters into individual stars.
NGC 7331 is a spiral galaxy of type Sb in about 60 million light -years away. The galaxy can be observed with a telescope of 10 cm aperture.
The galaxies NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, NGC 7319 and NGC 7320 form a group called Stephan's Quintet. Due to its distance of about 380 million light- years, the galaxies have a low brightness. To her observation are telescope from 20 cm opening.
NGC 7479 is a barred spiral galaxy.