ABSTRACT

Three of the four stars of the Square are white, but the fourth, Scheat or Beta Pegasi, is orange, as is well shown in the photograph. It is of type M, though it is not a supergiant such as Betelgeux and is “only” about 300 times as luminous as the Sun; its distance is 176 light-years. It is interesting to see how many stars can be seen within the Square with the naked eye. Of course, binoculars bring out a great many. 51 Pegasi, just outside the Square, is of special interest. It is of magnitude 5.5, with a G4-type spectrum; it is 42 light-years away, and in luminosity it is just about equal to the Sun. The other bright star of Pegasus is Epsilon, well to the right of the Square. It is of type K, and obviously orange.