One of the great fall constellations is Pegasus the Flying horse. He's easy to find in the sky if you're prepared to imagine him flying upside-down. Look for a big square or diamond shape of dim stars almost straight overhead. As an added clue there are very few stars within the square. This is Pegasus' body. His head and mane are to the right from the square.Pegasus has one of the grossest origin stories I've ever read. He was born during the epic battle between Perseus the Hero and the dreaded Sea Monster. Remember the Sea Monster had just risen from the briny deep to devour poor, helpless Princess Andromeda - when Perseus flew up. And luckily Perseus had just the weapon to fight the horrible beast. Earlier in the day Perseus decapitated Medusa - the snaky-haired gorgon whose look turned all living souls to stone. Perseus closed his eyes and took Medusa's bloody head out of a bag and showed it to the Sea Monster. At first glance the monster turned to stone, cracked of its own weight and fell to the bottom of the sea.
But where did Pegasus come from? I'm getting to it.
During the battle, Medusa's head was still a little juicy. I mean Perseus just killed her that morning after all. When Perseus held out Medusa's head to the Sea Monster some blood dripped out of her neck. When the blood hit the sea water below a magical thing happened. Through some sort of foamy, jello process the Gorgon's blood mixed with the water to form into... Pegasus the Flying Horse. This was a common theme in Greek mythology - when a monster or god bled, something always sprang from it. But it's hard to imagine a lovely winged horse coming from such a gruesome beginning. Those Greeks sure had imaginations!
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