Pegasus - The Winged Horse

Learn about the constellation Pegasus - The Winged Horse, location, facts, mythology, meteor showers and deep space objects.

Pegasus has an appearance resembling a grazing horse, with a large square area as its body.

Location: Northern Autumn 23h RA 15° Dec

The star δ Pegasi, one of the 4 stars in Pegasus Square, was later considered to be part of Andromeda. By moving the star, the square became a triangle attached to a stick body, thus resembling a wing. As a winged horse, Pegasus features in Greek mythology as its namesake, Pegasus.

Pegasus Mythology

Due to the presence of the 4 brightest stars in the square, i.e. the 4 horses of Pegasus, this may be part of the origin of the myth of the Mares of Diomedes, one of The Twelve Labours of Hercules, together with another feature in the Zodiac sign of Aquarius, namely Aquarius itself, pouring out the waters.

Pegasus Deep Space Objects

M15 (NGC 7078) is a globular cluster which is fairly rich and concentrated towards its centre.

NGC 7331 is a spiral galaxy located in Pegasus and is one of the first nebulous objects to be described as "spiral" by William Parsons.

In this table, the observation month represents the month in which the object reaches its highest point in the sky. It can also be viewed a few months before and after depending on your location. Direction is the compass direction in which the object is located, with Z meaning Zenith or overhead.