The Nautical Almanac # 54 --- Enif, the Nose of Pegasus

Enif (pronounced with a long "E" and a sniff) is the 54th star of the Nautical Almanac. It's name means "Nose" in Arabic, for it is the nose of the constellation Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology. It is also known as Epsilon Pegasi. Enif is a second magnitude orange supergiant that lies 688 light years from Earth. It is the brightest star in Pegasus.

Enif is one of three nearly identical orange-red supergiants. The other two are Sadalmelik and Sadalsuud of the constellation Aquarius The Water Bearer. Their relative motion indicates that the three stars were born together but drifted or were forced apart long ago. The word "Sadal" means "traveler" or "to break apart" in Arabic.

Enif is 11.7 times the Sun's mass and 185 times the Sun's radius, with a luminosity that has been measured at 12,250 times that of the Sun. It burns at 7,423 degrees Fahrenheit, about three-quarters the temperature of the Sun.

Long past its Main Sequence, and having consumed its hydrogen and probably its helium, Enif is burning heavier elements. It has a high percentage of the heavy metals strontium and barium in its stellar makeup. It is a pulsating star whose light varies by half a magnitude. Sometimes it appears more red than orange. Enif has flared at least once, and as recently as the 1990s, into the First Magnitude. Such violent changes are presages of its stellar death, though it is estimated to be only 20 million years old.