Equuleus
constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere
Equuleus is a faint constellation located just north of the celestial equator. 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.
Features
Stars
Bayer gave 4 stars Bayer designations Alpha through Delta as the most prominent stars in the constellation. In 1801, Bode added more designations through Lambda, but only Epsilon remained in use (Lambda is technically still in use, but some atlases often don't include it).
The brightest star in Equuleus is α 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.
The public source identifies “Equuleus” as constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Equuleus, constellation and northern.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Equuleus”, the useful work is to connect “constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q10438. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1801.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Equuleus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Equuleus primary sources, Equuleus archive and Equuleus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Equuleus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.