The Constellation

http://blogs.yogajournal.com/night%20sky.jpg

The Myth of PegasusPegasus is the son of the Greek God Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa. When Perseus killed Medusa, Pegasus flew out of her head and was thus born. The hero Bellerophon tamed and rode Pegasus using a golden bridle provided by the Goddess Athene. Bellerophon used Pegasus to help him defeat the three-headed monster Chimera, as well as the Amazons. Once Bellerophon had conquered these creatures with the help of Pegasus, he became arrogant and full of pride. Believing himself to be almost godlike, Bellerophon made Pegasus fly him to Mount Olympus, where all of the other Greek Gods dwelled. The gods were angered by Bellerophon’s presumptuousness, and so Zeus sent an insect to sting Pegasus. The sting made Pegasus buck Bellerophon off of his back, and Bellerophon fell down to Earth where he remained blind and lame, no longer a hero. Pegasus continued on to Mount Olympus alone, where he helped Zeus by carrying his thunderbolts. For his bravery and assistance, the Gods honored Pegasus by placing him in the stars, where he can now be found as a constellation.

Different Views of Pegasus in the Stars

Various Sky Maps and Representations Taken from the Internet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pegasus_constellation_map.png

A Different Representation of Pegasus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pegasus_constellation_map_visualization.PNG

http://www.dibonsmith.com/peg_con.gif

http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/pegasus/

Constellation Information

Pegasus is a large constellation that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere of the night sky, between the latitudes of +90 and -60 degrees. This constellation is best seen in the month of October at 9:00pm.

The ‘Great Square of Pegasus’ is an asterism within the original constellation, and is made up of the stars Markab, Scheat, Algenib and Sirrah (Alpha Andromedae or Alpheratz). The star Sirrah is the brightest star of the Pegasus constellation, as well as the Andromeda constellation which is attached to Pegasus.

Pegasus also contains the globular cluster M15, which is one of the most densely packed and brilliant globulars known in the Milky Way.

The Globular Cluster M15, which can be found in the Pegasus constellation.

The Cluster was photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in December of 1998

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:M15_-_Hubble_1998.jpg

Bibliography• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_%28constellation%29

Pegasus (Constellation). From Wikipedia free encyclopedia.

• http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/pegasus/

The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Pegasus

• http://www.dibonsmith.com/constel.htm

The Constellations: Pegasus

• http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OHSICS/planet/constell/constell.htm

The Fairfax County Public Schools Planetarium Website. Constellations: Pegasus