Constellations · Constellation · Pegasi · Peg
Constellation
Pegasus
The winged horse, born from Medusa’s blood. Its body is the Great Square, and near it, in 1995, the first planet around a Sun-like star was found.
- Genitive
- Pegasi
- Area
- 1,121 square degrees · 7th of 88
- Brightest star
- Enif · magnitude 2.38
- Naked-eye stars
- 182 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- late August
Myth
The hero Bellerophon tamed Pegasus and rode him against the Chimera, but tried to fly to Olympus; Zeus sent a gadfly, and the horse threw him.
Look for
The Great Square is a signpost of autumn skies. Count the stars inside it: under a good sky you will see a handful; under a city, none.
Discovery
In 1995 Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz found a giant planet whipping round the star 51 Pegasi every four days. It won them the 2019 Nobel Prize.