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| Abbreviation: Lyr |
| English Name: The Lyra |
| Genitive: Vega |
| Hemisphere: Northern Hemisphere |
| Location: Between the constellations of Cygnus and Hercules. |
| Visible between latitudes: +90 and -40 degrees |
| Best season: Summer |
| Seen in three seasons: Spring, Summer, & Autumn. |
| Best seen in: Early August (map) |
| Seen between: April and November |
| Right Ascension (RA): 19 hour |
| Declination (DEC): +40 degrees |
| Area (square degrees): 286 square degrees (52nd) |
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Lyra (The Lyra)
- This small constellation, but beautiful, is overlooked by Vega – one of the brightest stars in the sky.
o - About 4000 years ago, the star Thuban was the North Star. Since then, movement in the position of the Earth’s axis has changed where the North Pole points, so the North Star is now Polaris. In another 10,000 years or so, the North Star will be Vega!
o - Vega, along with Deneb and Altair form the well-known Summer Triangle.
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Messier Objects in Lyra
| M56 – Globular Cluster; Low concentration of stars, rather loose – unlike most globular clusters, this one has no bright core. |
| M57 – Planetary Nebula; Ring Nebula, also known as Smoke Ring, sometimes called Donut Nebula, very impressive and stunning objects. Small telescopes show it as a featureless patch or disk, but 4-inch brings out the shape. (Photo: [1] / [2] ) |
| . |
More objects in Lyra
| Select Catalog | No of Objects |
| Barnard (B) | 0x object |
| Caldwell (C) | 0x object |
| Collinder (Cr) | 0x objects |
| New General Catalogue (NGC) | 33x objects |
| Index Catalogue (IC) | 5x objects |
| Sharpless (Sh2) | 1x object |
Features of Interest
- NGC 6791 – Open Cluster, roughly 8 billion years old; very rich in stars (more than 100 stars), looks like a sparse lobular cluster which is detached with a strong concertation toward the centre and has a brightness range.
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Named Stars
- Vega (Alpha Lyr)
- Sheliak (Beta Lyr)
- Sulafat (Gamma Lyr)
- Double Double (Epsilon 1 Lyr)
- Double Double (Epsilon 1 Lyr)
- Double Double (Epsilon 2 Lyr)
- Double Double (Epsilon 2 Lyr)
- Aladfar (Eta Lyr)
- Alathfar (Mu Lyr)
- more list of stars in Lyra.
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Planetarium / Constellation Map
| Live constellation visible from the UK :- Planetarium (Lyra) | Best Seen in: Early August (map) | Seen between: April and November |
IAU Sky Chart: Lyra
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Constellations – Visible from the UK
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Parts visible from the UK
| Antlia | Columba | Eridanus | Fornax | Microscopium | ||
| Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Sagittarius | Scorpius | ||
| Sculptor |
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Constellations: Southern Celestial Hemisphere
…..– never seen from the UK
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Back to …Constellation Names
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