Lacerta (constellation)
| Constellation | |
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| Abbreviation | Lac |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Lacertae |
| Pronunciation |
/læˈkɜːrtə/, genitive /læˈkɜːrtiː/ |
| Symbolism | the Lizard |
| Right ascension | 22.5 |
| Declination | +45 |
| Quadrant | NQ4 |
| Area | 201 sq. deg. (68th) |
| Main stars | 5 |
|
Bayer/Flamsteed stars |
17 |
| Stars with planets | 12 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 1 |
| Brightest star | α Lac (3.76m) |
| Nearest star |
EV Lacertae (16.47 ly, 5.05 pc) |
| Messier objects | 0 |
| Bordering constellations |
Andromeda Cassiopeia Cepheus Cygnus Pegasus |
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Visible at latitudes between +90° and −40°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of October. |
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Lacerta is one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Its name is Latin for lizard. A small, faint constellation, it was defined in 1687 by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its brightest stars form a "W" shape similar to that of Cassiopeia, and it is thus sometimes referred to as 'Little Cassiopeia'. It is located between Cygnus, Cassiopeia and Andromeda on the northern celestial sphere. The northern part lies on the Milky Way.
Lacerta is typical of Milky Way constellations: no bright galaxies, nor globular clusters, but instead open clusters, for example NGC 7243, the faint planetary nebula IC 5217 and quite a few double stars. It also contains the prototypic blazar BL Lacertae. Lacerta contains no Messier objects.
Alpha Lacertae is a blue-white hued main-sequence star of magnitude 3.8, 102 light-years from Earth. It has a spectral type of A1 V and is an optical double star. Beta Lacertae is far dimmer, a yellow giant of magnitude 4.4, 170 light-years from Earth.
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