The autumn sky has fewer bright stars than in summer or winter, making it appear dimmer. Among them, the most recognizable is Pegasus, whose main stars roughly form a trapezoid.
Born from Medusa’s Neck: The Immortal Pegasus
In mythology, Pegasus’s birth was quite miraculous. At that time, the hero Perseus vowed to slay the Gorgon Medusa. With the help of Hermes, the messenger god, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and through his own wit and courage, Perseus succeeded in beheading Medusa. As the blood gushed out, Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor leapt from Medusa’s neck.
As his name implies, Pegasus was born with a pair of wings. Right after his birth, he took flight, soaring into the sky. According to legend, he dwelled near the home of the Muses. He once struck the ground, causing a spring to gush forth, becoming an inspiration for poets and artists.
However, the carefree days eventually came to an end. One day, the hero Bellerophon found Pegasus, and tamed him with the golden bridle given by Athena. Together they confronted the Chimera, a monster with a lion’s head, a serpent’s tail, and a goat’s head on its back that could breathe fire. Bellerophon and Pegasus worked in perfect coordination, launching attacks from the sky, successfully slaying the Chimera and achieving great fame.
The story could have ended happily, but Bellerophon grew arrogant. He rode Pegasus toward Mount Olympus, seeking to make himself equal to the gods. This act enraged the heavenly gods, and Zeus, king of the gods, sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus. In the struggle, Pegasus threw Bellerophon from his back. In the end, Bellerophon fell back to the mortal world, while Pegasus alone reached Mount Olympus. To honor his deeds, Zeus placed him among the stars as the constellation Pegasus.
Observation Guide
On autumn nights, it is easy to find a nearly trapezoidal quadrilateral known as the Autumn Square, also called the Great Square of Pegasus. As expected, this quadrilateral outlines Pegasus’s body, though the northeastern star actually belongs to the constellation Andromeda.
Pegasus is the seventh-largest constellation, so the quadrilateral is quite large, with wide gaps between its four stars. In Chinese constellations, the four stars of Pegasus belong to four different constellations: Hsu, Wei, Shih, and Bi.
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Easter Egg
He charged up the ramp, convinced he could take off at the edge,
just like Pegasus.
And then, he went tumbling right over it.
