Equuleus the Little Horse is a tiny and hard-to-find constellation located in fall skies.
Equuleus the Little Horse is a minuscule constellation that can be found in the fall sky but only by knowing just where to look.
Mythology
Equuleus, pronounced Ek WOO lee us, was the mythological child of Pegasus the Winged Horse. Although in other mythological stories Equuleus is considered Celeris, the brother of Pegasus. Yet another myth says that Equuleus is a sea horse, who came into being when Neptune and Athena were having a contest showcasing their powers. Equuleus was born from Neptune's trident.
Location
Because Equuleus is the child of Pegasus, they are located next to one another in the night sky. Equuleus lies straight out from the head of Pegasus. Another way to find Equuleus is to look under the shape of the leaping dolphin in the constellation Delphinus.
Stars
Equuleus is the smallest of all the constellations in the Northern Hemisphere. (Only Crux, in the Southern Hemisphere, is smaller the Equuleus.) It is less than 13 degrees wide at its widest point. Its brightest star is a simple magnitude 3.92 star known as Alpha Equulei, or Kitalpha. It lies 186 light-years away.
A few other stars in the constellation have been given Greek letter designations. Two and a half degrees from Alpha is Beta Equulei, a magnitude 5.16 star located 360 light-years away. Less than five degrees from Alpha are two star in close proximity. The magnitude 4.47 Delta Equulei lies one degree from the magnitude 4.7 star Gamma Equulei. Delta lies 60 light-years away and Gamma lies 115 light-years away. Lastly, the magnitude 5.24 star Epsilon Equulei lies in the western corner of the constellation. Epsilon lies 197 light-years away.
Deep-Sky Objects
Equuleus lies just off the Milky Way's plane plus its tiny size means it misses out on nebulae, clusters, and other good observing targets. There are a few NGC galaxies in Equuleus but no Messier objects. A large telescope is required to see any of them. Near the center of the constellation is NGC 7040 at magnitude 15. Less than two degrees away from Gamma is NGC 7015 at magnitude 13. Finally, NGC 7046 lies in the southern portion of the constellation near some other dim IC galaxies. NGC 7046 is a magnitude 14.
Using a good star map you can find other galaxies in Equuleus. Some of the targets include: IC 5083, IC 1377, IC 1379, IC 1375, IC 1367, IC 1365, and IC 1364.
Just over the border of Equuleus lie two nice globular clusters: M15 in Pegasus and M2 in Aquarius.
