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Equuleus, "The Little Horse", is one of the smallest constellations in the heavens. It's quite old, and may have been founded by Ptolemy in the second century AD. However the author of the Almagest often borrowed from others and it is possible his principal source, Hipparchus, was the true creator of this constellation.
The "little horse" that the name refers to is lost in antiquity. Some
sources believe it to be a half-brother of Pegasus, Celeris. However I've not found any reference to this character. The only brother of Pegasus that I've come across is Chrysaor, born simultaneously with Pegasus. Instead of a horse, Chrysaor was a warrior.
Its original name seems to have been Al Faras al Awwal and the
Latin equivalent Equus Primus, "the First Horse", since it rises
just before Pegasus.
There are only a half dozen Bayer stars,
which are generally fifth magnitude.
There are a number of multiple binaries here, but little else.
Epsilon Equulei (Struve 2737) is also a multiple system:
None of Equuleus' variables are suitable for amateur viewing; the
brightest Mira-type variable (R Equ) only gets to a visual magnitude of
8.7 every 261 days.
The constellation has none.
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© Richard Dibon-Smith.