Mouse cursor over Sky Map shows star labels. Cursor over the green "focus" marker reveals "distance view," where larger stars are closer. (Browser must allow scripts or be Javascript enabled to view these details. Sky Map view from "Stars in the NeighborHood" software)
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Sky Position:
Move your mouse over the map, at left, and you can see that 51 Pegasi is a dim, fifth magnitude star west of the Square of Pegasus. One thing that makes this system interesting is its nearness — 12.4 parsecs (14.7 pc by some sources). One of its next door neighbors is the comparably dim 85 Pegasi. |
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Hover mouse cursor over distance scale to change from parsecs to light years.
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Looking back toward Sol from 51 Pegasi. (Sky Map view from "Stars in the NeighborHood" software)
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Alien Skies™:
Our sun is also a dim, fifth magnitude star in the night skies of 51 Pegasi. Many of the stars in this direction are far more radiant in apparent brightness than our sun. Even Alpha Centauri, our next door neighbor is brighter only because its system contains a star equal to Sol in brightness in addition to a second of nearly comparable brightness.
Our sun is tagged by the yellow focus marker when you hover your mouse cursor over the Sky Map. Cursor over either the yellow or green marker will reveal the distance view.
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View from 51 Pegasi toward its nearby neighbor, 85 Pegasi, against a backdrop of two stellar jewel boxes — the combined constellations of Orion and Taurus and the asterism of the Pleiades. (Sky Map view from "Stars in the NeighborHood" software) |
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Alien Skies™:
85 Pegasi is rather bright in the night skies of 51 Pegasi at only 3.5 parsecs distance. The dazzling combination of Taurus and Orion into one constellation makes this an interesting patch of sky from our new vantage point.
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