The Great Square of Pegasus depicting the mythological winged horse is now high in the eastern sky. Pegasus is one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolomy sometime after 150 BC and was part of the story of the “Royal Family of Constellations”. The story depicts King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia sacrificing their daughter Andromeda to the sea creature Cetus to appease the angry gods. Our hero Perseus the Hunter saves Andromeda and they both ride off on Pegasus.

Standing under a dark country sky on a moonless night, our eyes drink in a couple of thousand stars as well as visible planets. This alone is a wonder but once we use the magnification of a telescope, fainter objects now reveal their subtle detail. Amateur astronomers not only use their telescopes to magnify what the unaided eye sees but hunt down the elusive galaxies, star clusters and nebulae.