Equuleus

Equuleus /ᵻˈkwuːliəs/ is a constellation. Its name is Latin for 'little horse', a foal. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is the second smallest of the modern constellations (after Crux), spanning only 72 square degrees. It is also very faint, having no stars brighter than the fourth magnitude.

Notable features

Stars

The brightest star in Equuleus is Alpha Equulei, traditionally called Kitalpha, a yellow star magnitude 3.9, 186 light-years from Earth. Its traditional name means "the section of the horse".

There are few variable stars in Equuleus. Only around 25 are known, most of which are faint. Gamma Equulei is an alpha CVn star, ranging between magnitudes 4.58 and 4.77 over a period of around 12½ minutes. It is a white star 115 light-years from Earth, and has an optical companion of magnitude 6.1, 6 Equulei. It is divisible in binoculars.R Equulei is a Mira variable that ranges between magnitudes 8.0 and 15.7 over nearly 261 days.

Equuleus (Chinese astronomy)

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Equuleus is located within the northern quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ).

The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 小馬座 (xiǎo mǎ zuò), meaning "the colt constellation".

Stars

The map of Chinese constellation in constellation Equuleus area consists of :

See also

References

External links