Scheat is the red star at the north-west corner of the Great Square of Pegasus, a huge cool star whose brightness drifts irregularly.
At a glance
| type | red giant (class M) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 196 light-years (60.1 pc) |
| its light left it | 196 years ago |
| luminosity | 1,450 × the Sun |
| radius | 104 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 3,500 K |
| constellation | Pegasus (Winged Horse) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Scheat
The card lists a red supergiant of class M, vastly wider than the Sun with a cool, reddish surface. Like many stars so swollen and cool, it varies in brightness irregularly, by small amounts that careful observers can follow.
Scheat is Beta Pegasi. With Markab, Algenib and Alpheratz it forms the Great Square of Pegasus, the large and nearly empty quadrilateral that dominates the autumn sky. Its reddish tint is visible to the eye beside the white of Markab.
What you see in the piece
From Earth the Great Square looks like four corners of a flat frame. In the piece its corners lie at different distances, and the square becomes a skewed shape as soon as you fly out.
Questions
What are the four stars of the Great Square?
The Great Square of Pegasus is made of Markab, Scheat, Algenib and Alpheratz. Alpheratz is formally part of Andromeda.