A small constellation that dates back to the time of ancient Greece. The dolphin rescued the musician Arion from drowning after he was robbed and thrown off a ship, as a reward the dolphin was placed in the sky for ever.
In legend dolphins were the messengers of the sea god Neptune.
Delphinus is close to Altair, in summer triangle. Its brightest stars are only just above mag 4 but it is a small compact little group like a very loose star cluster. In shape the dolphin bears a vague resemblance to a tiny dim distorted Plough.
Its 4 main stars form a rectangle called Job’s Coffin the origin of this name is not known.
