Equuleus - The Little Horse

Equuleus is a dim constellation located between Pegasus, Delphinus and Aquarius. It is a old constellation, and the second smallest in the sky. Equuleus includes an inconspicuous group of stars that form an elongated triangle, visible only on a clear summer night.

History and Mythology

Equuleus is thought to have been named by Hipparchus, the Greek astronomer. It represents the horse Celeris that was given by Mercury to Castor. It was named the Little Horse to distinguish it from Pegasus, the great winged horse.

Another myth tells us that Equuleus is Cyllarus, the horse that Hera gave to Pollux (Castor's twin brother). It has also been identified with the horse created by Poseidon, when his trident struck the Earth during a contest with Athena.

Notable Objects

Equuleus includes three stars of 4th magnitude. The brightest is Kitalpha, meaning "part of the horse". It is a very close spectroscopic binary consisting of a white main-sequence star, like Sirius, and a yellow giant like Capella, about 186 light years away.

Equuleus does not contain any prominent star clusters, nebulae or galaxies.