![]() ![]() The constellation Pegasus is depicted with only the top half of the horse, and it is nevertheless one of the largest constellations in the sky, seventh in size. There, Zeus used the horse to carry his thunder and lightning, and eventually placed him among the constellations. Riding Pegasus, he tried to fly to Olympus and join the gods. After this and several other heroic deeds for King Iobates, Bellerophon let the successes get to his head. Then he swooped down on the Chimaera from the sky and defeated the monster with his lance and arrows. Bellerophon found Pegasus and tamed him using a golden bridle given to him by the goddess Athena. The most famous myth involving Pegasus is the one of Bellerophon, the hero who was sent by King Iobates of Lycia to defeat the Chimaera, a monster that breathed fire and was devastating the king’s land. The name Hippocrene means “the horse’s fountain.” It was said that those who drank from the spring were blessed with the gift to write poetry. He created a spring that was named Hippocrene by striking the ground with his hoof. When he was born, Pegasus flew away to Mount Helicon in Boeotia, where the Muses lived, and he befriended them. The name Pegasus is derived from the Greek pegai which means “springs” or “waters,” and Chrysaor’s name means “the golden sword.” When Perseus defeated Medusa, Pegasus and the warrior Chrysaor sprang from her neck, both of them offspring of Poseidon. He did not expect the hero to come back from his mission alive. Polydectes wanted Danaë for himself and Perseus stood in his way because he defended his mother from the king’s advances. Perseus was sent to defeat Medusa by King Polydectes of Seriphus, who was the brother of Dictys, the man who took Perseus and his mother Danaë in and raised Perseus as his own son. Athena turned Medusa’s hair into snakes and made her face so ugly that anyone who looked at her immediately turned to stone. Medusa was a beautiful young woman before she was turned into a monster by the goddess Athena after being caught being defiled by the sea god Poseidon in the goddess’ temple. In Greek mythology, Pegasus is a white winged horse that sprang from the neck of the Gorgon Medusa when Perseus beheaded her. Pegasus constellation map by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine Pegasus myth The star names approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are Algenib, Alkarab, Anadolu, Biham, Enif, Helvetios, Homam, Markab, Matar, Morava, Sadalbari, Salm, Scheat, Solaris, and Tangra. The constellation contains 15 formally named stars. There is one meteor shower associated with Pegasus the July Pegasids. The brightest star in the constellation is Enif, Epsilon Pegasi, with an apparent magnitude of 2.399. Pegasus contains a Messier object – Messier 15 (NGC 7078, Cumulo de Pegaso) – and has nine stars with confirmed planets. Pegasus belongs to the Perseus family of constellations, along with Andromeda, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cetus, Lacerta, Perseus, and Triangulum. The three-letter abbreviation, adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1922, is Peg. The genitive form of Pegasus, used in star names, is Pegasi (pronunciation: /ˈpɛɡəsaɪ/). In English, the constellation is known as Pegasus or the Winged Horse. The constellation name Pegasus is pronounced /ˈpɛɡəsəs/. The neighboring constellations are Andromeda, Aquarius, Cygnus, Delphinus, Equuleus, Lacerta, Pisces and Vulpecula. It is located in the fourth quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ4) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -60°. Pegasus is the seventh largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 1121 square degrees. The constellation is known for the Great Square of Pegasus, a familiar asterism in the northern sky, as well as for a number of bright stars and deep sky objects, among them Messier 15 (NGC 7078, Cumulo de Pegaso), Stephan’s Quintet of galaxies, the Einstein Cross (a gravitationally lensed quasar), and the unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 7742. The constellation was named after Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is one of the largest constellations in the sky. Pegasus constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. ![]()
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