Enif marks the muzzle of Pegasus, an orange supergiant whose Arabic name means nose, glowing at the far end of the horse from the Great Square.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 690 light-years (211 pc) |
| its light left it | 690 years ago |
| luminosity | 6,180 × the Sun |
| radius | 112 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 4,830 K |
| constellation | Pegasus (Winged Horse) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Enif
Enif is an orange supergiant of class K, a massive star that has burned through its core hydrogen and swollen to a vast size. Its cool surface gives it a clear orange tint, and its total output dwarfs the Sun’s.
Enif is Epsilon Pegasi. Its name comes from the Arabic anf, “nose”, for the winged horse’s muzzle. Pegasus is drawn upside down from northern latitudes, so Enif sits at the end of the neck reaching west from the Great Square towards Equuleus and Delphinus.
What you see in the piece
Enif lies far behind most of the stars of the Great Square. Its orange colour is its temperature, and its brightness here is honest: a powerful star made modest by distance.
Questions
What does Enif mean?
Enif comes from the Arabic word for nose: it marks the muzzle of Pegasus, the winged horse.