Equuleus was visualized as the head of a horse, next to the head of the much betterknown horse pegasus. Pisces constellation simple english wikipedia, the. Equuleus, the little horse, is one of the smallest constellations in the heavens. The constellation was created by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. If you know where to look in the northern hemisphere, and what to look for, these constellations pop into our line of sight and really are a wonder to behold.
Equuleus is a small, faint constellation with few notable deep sky objects and no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. Equuleus celestial atlas by alexander jamieson 1822. Equuleus, the little horse lower constellation on the chart is a small and relatively faint constellation found bordered by aquila, aquarius and pegasus. The orion constellation has 81 visible stars, including some of the brightest and most important stars in the night sky. The smallest constellations, by dennis mammana creators. The constellation that is the largest is hydra, which takes up 3. Homer mentioned a few now familiar constellations in his epic poem, the odyssey.
Equuleus is the 87th largest in terms of size in the night sky. The constellation equuleus, globular cluster m72, and. Kitalpha was the equuleus saint in the xxi century. The constellation of equuleus the foal is in the northern hemisphere and at only 72 square degrees it is the second smallest by area. A very small inconspicuous constellation in the northern hemisphere near pegasus, the brightest star being a triple star of 4th magnitude. But where crux is inside the milky way and full of celestial treasures, equuleus sits off to the side by itself in a relatively empty part of the sky, offering.
Equuleus is the head of a horse with a flowing mane which the arabs called al faras al awwal, the first horse, in reference to its rising before pegasus. Astronomers recognize 88 official constellations in the sky. These stars form an ancient group whose origins are lost in history. Definition of equuleus constellation in the legal dictionary by free online english dictionary and encyclopedia. Ptolemy assigned four faint stars to equuleus, which we know today as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta equulei, but gave no brightness estimates for them. Its quite old, and may have been founded by ptolemy in the second century ad. Aquarius is a constellation of the zodiac, situated between capricornus and pisces. In this weeks astronomy magazine podcast, well help you observe the constellation equuleus, globular cluster m72, and the fireworks galaxy ngc 6946 in augusts night sky.
Equuleus, despite having no bright stars, was one of the constellations recognized by greek astronomer and mathematician hipparchus, and went on to be one of the 48. It is sometimes also known as equus primus, or the first horse. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. Equuleus is thought to be cerleris, the swift brother of pegasus, whom mercury gave to castor, the brother of pollux gemini. It is best seen in the late summerearly autumn months in the south at around midnight. This is the list of notable stars in the constellation equuleus, sorted by decreasing brightness. Forty eight of the constellations we know were recorded in the seventh and eighth books. Equuleus little horse is a faint northern sky constellation that was included by the greek astronomer ptolemy in his astronomy treatise called. Equuleus the little horse the second smallest constellation in the sky, and contains no notable deep sky objects due to its small size and its distance from the plane of the milky way. The big dipper and the little dipper are asterisms. Today, in honor of the late and great tammy plotner, we take a look at the little horse the equuleus constellation. Equuleus is also linked to the story of philyra and saturn. The constellation includes a series of starburst nebulae where new stars are forming.
The constellation that is the smallest is crus, which takes up 0. The greek writer geminus, who predated ptolemy by a century or two, tells us that hipparchus introduced a constellation called protome hippou in the second century bc. When jacob bartsch included camelopardalis on his star map of 1624, he described the constellation as a camel on which rebecca rode into canaan, where she was to marry isaac. Often referred to as the foal of the heavens, equuleus is the second smallest constellation in the sky. There are 22 different constellations that start with the letter c.
Exhibits online unites text, images, and other media on topics in the history of science. It is a very old constellation that has its roots in many cultures. Its three primary stars form an acute triangle pointing northsouth. Ptolemy mentioned this constellation in his great book almagest, but since. The constellation is associated with several greek myths, most. In greek mythology, the constellation was mainly associated with the foal celeris. Equuleus constellation legal definition of equuleus. Just before the rebirth of pallas, a city in italy had his time frozen by saturn servants that named themselves as. Equuleus article about equuleus by the free dictionary. There are 88 officially recognized constellations in the sky, and these astronomical patterns have a fascinating and long history. We have probably all heard of the big dipper and its smaller counterpart, the little dipper.
Fortyeight of the constellations are known as ancient or. In the western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from ptolemys list in the almagest which in turn has roots that go back to mesopotamian astronomy, and most of the far southern. Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is latin for watercarrier or cupcarrier, and its symbol is, a representation of water. In any case, it can be seen rising in midseptember just before pegasus. Equuleus, the horse constellation facts and mythology. The history of science program of the university of oklahoma provides exhibits online as a resource for students and scholars, to support undergraduate instruction and to facilitate collaborative research. Its origin is uncertain, though its brightest stars were cataloged by ptolemy c. Material is drawn from diverse fields from ancient times to the present.
This is the smallest of all constellations in the sky and has no stars. Equuleus is one of the 48 constellations cataloged by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the second century. Four hundred years later eudoxus of cnidus wrote about 43 constellations or 45 or 48 depending on ones interpretation which survive today. Equuleus simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. How the night sky constellations got their names space. Ptolemy referred to this constellation as the head and neck of a. It is visible in midseptember rising just before pegasus. The constellation is best seen in the northern summer, as it is located along the milky way. While the giraffe is not a reference to mythology, the constellations name could be a reference to the book of genesis in the bible, but this remains doubtful. There is no certain legend applied to equuleus and it is supposedly created by the. Constellation, in astronomy, any of certain groupings of stars that were. In some references, it may also represent cerleris, the brother of pegasus. It is the second smallest of the 88 constellations, bigger only than crux.
Equuleus, the little horse, is a constellation that lies between pegasus and delphinus. It is a small constellation ranking 69th out of the 88 constellations. Two small constellations are shown this month, faint equuleus in the lower left and distinctive delphinus on the right hand side. The crystal ball nebula ngc 1514 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation taurus, near the border with perseus.
Constellations were part of the historical record in mesopotamian culture around 4000 b. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Its brightest star is kitalpha from the arabic for part of a horse, with a magnitude of 3. Equuleus little horse is a faint northern sky constellation that was included by the greek astronomer ptolemy in his astronomy treatise called almagest around 150 ad. Equuleus is an old constellation that may have been identified by ptolemy in the second century. Caesius, in modern times, associated it with the kings horse that haman hoped for, as is told in the book of esther. Constellation facts for kids interesting facts about. In ancient china, the stars were part of a constellation known as the black tortoise of the north.
Little horse constellation in the northern sky at about 21. Greek protome means head or bust in sculpture, with later astronomers it was equus primus and prior. Rigel is the brightest star in it, and betelgeuse is a huge, rather unstable red giant. This constellation is located close to the celestial equator and is bordered by vulpecula, sagitta, aquila, aquarius, equuleus, and pegasus. Media in category equuleus constellation the following 26 files are in this category, out of 26 total. The firstcentury astronomer claudius ptolemy mentioned this constellation in his. It was included in the original 48 constellations described by ptolemy. Delphinus, equuleus constellations digital images of.
A constellation in the northern hemisphere, between pegasus and aquila. Here is an excerpt from sestis description of the constellation of ara, the altar. Its name is latin for eagle and it represents the bird that carried zeusjupiters thunderbolts in grecoroman mythology its brightest star, altair, is one vertex of the summer triangle asterism. The creator of the constellation is unknown, but equuleus was introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. This constellation, as is commonly remarked, never sets, and those who want to find an explantation for this say that tethys, the wife of ocean, refuses to receive it when the other starts come to their setting because she had been the nurse of hera. Such stars are named for the constellation in which they reside, so it is. Initially published in 1942 and now celebrating its 50th anniversary, star maps for beginners has sold more than 450,000 copies. A northern constellation which lies between delphinus and pegasus, and culminates at midnight in early august. Equuleus literally means little horse of foal in latin. Equuleus constellation britannica encyclopedia britannica. In mid of september the above field culminates at about 21.
The greek writer geminus, who predated ptolemy by a century or two, tells us that hipparchus introduced a constellation. Constellation equuleus the constellations on sea and sky. Interestingly, the old astronomy books and sky charts, which depicted the constellations as. However the author of the almagest often borrowed from others and it is possible his principal source, hipparchus, was. Equuleus january 8, 2017 peter christoforou star constellations 0 equuleus little horse is a faint northern sky constellation that was included by the greek astronomer ptolemy in his astronomy treatise called almagest around 150 ad. Guide to the constellations celestial sphere proper motion constellation former constellations 88 modern constellations constellation family asterism astronomy list of nakshatras chinese constellations andromeda list of stars in andromeda antlia list of stars in antlia apus list of stars in apus aquarius list of stars in aquarius aquila. Equuleus is the second smallest constellation in the northern hemisphere. Aquarius is one of the oldest of the recognized constellations along the zodiac the suns apparent path. These include delphinus, equuleus, lacerta, sagitta and vulpecula most. The constellation is one of the original constellations that was devised by the ancient grecoegyptian astronomer ptolemy who lived between 90 a.