It’s time for another Sky Safari and this time we’ll be touring the constellation Pegasus.
We see Pegasus in our sky on the edge of the Milky Way, so this constellation has its share of both near and far deep sky objects - star clusters and nebulae, as well as distant galaxies and galaxy clusters. Pegasus also has some important “firsts”, such as the first extrasolar planet to be discovered (near the star 51 Pegasi / aka Bellerophon) and the first planetary nebula inside a globular cluster (Pease 1 in M51).
Pegasus, the winged horse, flies through our autumn skies. Four bright stars arranged in a square about 15 degrees across (“the Great Square of Pegasus”) form the horse’s body. The horse’s neck and head are a V-shaped string of stars on the western side of the square, starting from Markab (Alpha Pegasi) in the southwest corner. Two strings of fainter stars, starting from Scheat (Beta Pegasi) in the northwest corner, form the horse’s forelegs.
Join us on Sunday night October 26 at 9 pm EDT (0100 UT on Monday morning) as we explore this constellation to learn more about its many treasures.
And, don’t forget your road map!
UPDATE: Sky Safari has been rescheduled to air on Sunday, November 2, at 7:25pm EDT / 00:25 UTC
Stephan’s Quintet in Pegasus:
