Does anyone know who discovered the constellation pegasus?

PtolemyDoes anyone know who discovered the constellation pegasus?The teacher who posed this question should be reported to their board. No one with the slightest knowledge of astronomy or history would ask a child such a meaningless question.Does anyone know who discovered the constellation pegasus?Nobody ''discovered'' the constellation Pegasus, but it was "茂nvented" and for a bit of history on how it cane about:-



There are a total of 88 constellations which cover the entire sky. These are now taken as fixed areas of the sky and not patterns as was originaly envisaged by ancient Greece. They are still useful for defining the position of celestial objects such as stars and nebulae.



Originally there were only 45 constellations published around circa 150 AD by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy it was he who called one particular group of stars "Pegasus" the winged horse of Greek mythology in his famous book The Almagest. So he invented the name and constellation.



Many of those in The Almagest were in fact "invented" by the Babylonians (whis is now Iraq) before 2000BC, particularly the 12 constellations of the Zodiac



Ptolemys book was used until the 16th Century when two Dutch astronomers added another 12 new ones covering the southern hemisphere. 100 years later a further 7 were added by a French astronomer to "fill in the gaps" and 100 years later the French (again) added another 14 more in the southern hemisphere and rationalised others. However the final arrangement was not done until 1922 by the International Astronomical Union who is the only body which is allowed to do so (and demote planets to dwarf planets like Pluto).



I hope you can appreciate that the constellations do change over time because of the proper motion of the stars which means that eventually (in about 10,000 years) many of the constellations will look nothing like they do today and will be mere vestiges of what they looked like before.



I am sorry about the length of this one but thought it might be useful if you are interested in the subject. So your answer is circa 150 AD by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy.



If you are interested in this sort of thing you can still get a copy of the Almagest (a most beautiful hand drawn book) which has been digitised and is on sale still.



If you want to know more just ask.



Hope this is not for a Trival Pursuits game.Does anyone know who discovered the constellation pegasus?As the person above has pointed out, constellations are invented, not discovered. Ptolemy did not invent the constellation, but reported it as already well known. It may go back as far as the Aryan civilization in India, 4,000 years ago.Does anyone know who discovered the constellation pegasus?
Constellations aren't 'discovered'. They are made up, to accompany stories in certain cultures. Someone sees a grouping of stars that reminds them of something they once heard in a legend...then, adds that into the legend itself, or, makes up a new one to fit the constellation that they think they see.