Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/411

Rh Arabs called it "Part of a Horse," while with the Hindus it was another of their Aswini, "the Horsemen."

In mythology, according to Allen, Equuleus is said to represent Celeris, the brother of Pegasus, given by Mercury to Castor; or Cyllarus, given to Pollux by Juno, or the creature struck by Neptune's trident from the earth when contesting with Minerva for superiority; but it also was connected with the story of Philyra and Saturn.

Cassius thought that Equuleus represented the King's Horse that Haman hoped for as told in the book of Esther. It was also thought to represent the mystic Rose.

The asterism comes to the meridian at 9 on the 24th of September.

δ Equulei is a triple and binary star. The two largest stars form a system noted as the quickest in orbital revolution of all the binaries in the heavens, save two. Its period according to Prof. Hussey is about 5.7 years. The components are so close that they can only be separated by the largest telescopes.