Constellation
Pegasus - The Winged Horse
Constellation:
Pegasus
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Constellation Data
Object name: Pegasus
Equatorial: RA: 22h 45m 17s Dec: +19°33'44"(current)
Equatorial 2000: RA: 22h 45m 00s Dec: +19°31'48"
Source catalog: Sky Database: Constellation
Type: Abbreviation: Peg
Constellation: Genitive Form: Pegasi
Description: Pegasus, the Winged Horse
Remarks: Pronunciation: PEG' uh suhs
Genitive Pronunciation: PEG' uh see
Mythology
Pegasus - The Winged Horse
The
constellation Pegasus represents
the winged horse of the same name. The birth of Pegasus is one of
the strangest stories in Greek mythology. The sea god Poseidon
courted Medusa who, at the time, was the most beautiful woman on
planet Earth. They consummated their relationship in the temple of
Athene. Angry at having her temple defiled in this way, Athene
turned Medusa's beautiful hair into snakes, and made her face so
ugly that looking at it could turn any man who looked at her into
stone. The hero Perseus slew and
decapitated Medusa, and from her body Pegasus and a warrior named
Chrysaor were born.
Pegasus is best
known as the steed of the Greek hero Bellerophon, who used the
winged horse to swoop down on and kill the monster called Chimaera.
Bellerophon later tried to use Pegasus to fly to Olympus to join the
gods. Bellerophon fell back to Earth, but Pegasus made it to
Olympus, where Zeus employed the horse to carry his thunder and
lightening.
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