Lyra Constellation: The Ultimate Guide
Lyra (The lyre)
Lyra is a constellation of the Northern Hemisphere. The constellation's name comes from the Greek "Lyre," a stringed instrument used by the Greeks since 1400 B.C.
The constellation of Lyra is one of the easiest to see in the sky. However, it is one of the smallest. It is due to its intense brightness and proximity to the north pole.
The fastest way to recognize it is thanks to the asterism of stars formed by four main stars that form a rhombus or quadrilateral that points in the opposite direction to the north polar star.
The brightest star in Lyra is Vega, which has an apparent magnitude of 0.03, being one of the five most luminous stars in the entire sky.
The constellation Lyra occupies a tiny region of the sky, so it has very few deep-sky objects. It's still home to things like galaxies and stellar nebulae.
In addition, within the boundaries of the constellation Lyra, there are occurrences of an essential meteor shower.
The Mythology And History Of The Lyra Constellation
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, the constellation of Lyra was depicted as an eagle or a vulture descending, carrying a lyre between its legs.
The main star we know as Vega, the Egyptians called it "Wega" from the Arabic "descend."
A small constellation is usually represented with other constellations, mainly linking the star Vega to nearby constellations like Draco or Hercules.
Greek Mythology
In ancient Greece, there was a myth in which the god Hermes built the first Lyra of history from a turtle shell given to him by the god Apollo and later given to Orpheus, the most exceptional musician of all.
The myth goes that the music produced by the Lyra of Orpheus was so wonderful that even lifeless objects such as rocks were enchanted.
In one of the stories, Orpheus uses the Lyra to quiet the voices of the "Sirens" who tried to seduce the "Argonauts."
Later in the historical records, the constellation of Lyra would be commonly associated with the Sun or Lyra. Still, sometimes Orpheus was placed with the Lyra in his hands.
Early Modern Period
During the time of exploration between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the constellation of Lyra was of help to ship captains in navigation since in the latitudes near latitudes 51 ° N Vega always remains on the horizon.
Because of this, it was used along with other constellations to locate the north pole, while its brightest star, Vega, was related to two stars that form an asterism of stars popularly known as the Summer Triangle.
The summer triangle is formed by the stars Vega, Altair of the constellation of the eagle, and Deneb of the constellation of the swan.
The three stars belong to 3 different constellations and are the brightest in their respective constellation; as the name implies, this triangle is only visible in summer.
Nowadays
Lyra has remained without any changes in its boundaries for more than two centuries; today, it is an essential object of study for observational astronomers since within its borders are significant bodies.
Some of them are star clusters, planetary nebulae, and galaxies.
Likewise, stars with extrasolar planets have been found in the constellation of Lyra.
How To Find The Lyra Constellation?
Visibility By Region
Lyra resides in the fourth quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere (NQ4) at latitudes between 42° S and 90° N, which means that we can see the constellation in the night sky from all countries of the northern hemisphere of the earth and some countries of the southern hemisphere.
Lyra can be seen from Colombia, Venezuela, Tanzania, or Indonesia from the south.
But it is not visible in regions that are too close to the south pole, such as southern Chile, southern Argentina, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
Visibility By Season
Lyra is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere; it is visible during the summer in the northern hemisphere and during the winter in the southern hemisphere.
The best month to see the constellation Lyra is in August.
Finding Lyra Constellation
Lyra is close to the north pole, so it will be easy to find if you know how to locate the north.
The easiest way to locate it is with the asterism that forms the summer triangle formed by Altair, Deneb, and Vega. These stars are the brightest in their constellations and are very easy to see with the naked eye.
You can locate Lyra in the middle of Cygnus and Hercules' constellations as a reference.
Related Constellations
The constellations bordering Lyra are Draco, Hercules, Vulpecula, and Cygnus.
Likewise, Lyra shares history with other constellations that form what is known as the family of constellations of Hercules; these are Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Sextans, Serpens, Triangulum Australe, and Vulpecula.
Stars in Lyra Constellation
Officially Lyra contains within the boundaries of its region 73 stars, of which 6 have proper names designated by the International Astronomical Union(IAU); these stars are Aladfar, Sheliak, Sulafat, Vega, Xihe, and Chasoň.
Five stars form the central figure that characterizes the constellation: Vega, Sulafat, Sheliak, Delta-2 Lyra, and Zeta Lyra.
Lyra's brightest star, Vega, with an apparent magnitude of 0.03, is the fifth brightest star in the entire sky.
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra; it is only 25 light-years away, making it one of the closest stars to our solar system.
This star belongs to the spectral class A0V, which means that Vega is a white main-sequence star of blue color that fuses hydrogen with helium at its core.
In nature, the most massive stars burn their fuel faster than the smallest; because of this, Vega's life is about a billion years, one-tenth that of the Sun.
Vega is a rotating star that rotates on its axis at an incredible speed of 3.7 km/s; this causes a bulge at the equator of the lead resulting in the diameter of its equator being much larger than the diameter at the poles.
Gamma Lyrae (γ Lyr / γ Lyrae
It is a bluish-white star with an apparent magnitude of 3. 25 located 634 light-years from the solar system; it is one of the stars that form the central figure of the constellation of Lyra and also one of the brightest.
Beta Lyrae (β Lyr,β Lyrae, Sheliak)
They are also known as Sheliak, a variable star of the "eclipsing binary" type within the constellation Lyra.
The system consists of two stars more prominent than the Sun: the blue-white primary star has a temperature of 11000 K, and the white color secondary star has a temperature below 6000 K.
Other Lyra Stars:
- Delta-2 Lyra
- Theya Lyra
- Aladfar
- Zeta Lyra
- Epsilon Lyra
- Lambda Lyra
- Alathfar
Deep Sky Objects
Lyra is also known as the home of several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects often mean star clusters, nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies), or galaxies. In the case of Lyra, it is rich in several notable galaxies and nebulae.
M57
It is the brightest and most significant planetary nebula in the constellation of Lyra, has a visual magnitude of 8.8, and is located 2567 light-years from the solar system.
According to the spectral data, this nebula has a blue-green tint caused by ionized oxygen emission lines, which gives it colors that are striking to the human eye.
Due to its shape, it is popularly called the Ring Nebula. It is known from telescope observations such as Hubble that it is in the last stage of its evolution.
NGC 6745
Located 206 million light-years away, NGC 6745 is an irregular galaxy in the process of merging; that is, it is not a single galaxy but three galaxies merging into one.
According to calculations from the motions of the stars, the collision of these galaxies takes several million years. In the process, the smaller galaxy has lost most of its matter and ceded it to the giant galaxy.
The collision process of galaxies will end in about 2 billion years.
Other Lyra Deep Sky Bodies:
- Abell 46
- NGC 6791
Meteor Showers
Within the constellation's boundaries, Lyra occurs a shower of stars called "Lyrids," which extends from April 16 to 26 of each year.
The peak of exposure of the Lyrids is the morning of April 22 of each year, although depending on the phase in which the moon is, this date can move a few days.
Interesting Facts
- According to the most recent data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, it is highly likely that the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra, Vega, has an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting around it.
- Although one of the minor constellations, Lyra is considered one of the essential constellations for sailors in the northern hemisphere.
- Vega, Lyra's brightest star, is the second brightest star in the northern hemisphere.
Conclusions
- Lyra has been one of the most important landmarks in the historical context due to its proximity to the North Pole and its intense brightness.
- The name Lyra came from Greek and was the name of a stringed instrument.
- Lyra is a northern constellation, but it is possible to see it from almost all countries in the southern hemisphere, the only exceptions being New Zealand and Antarctica.
- Lyra is visible throughout the year in Europe, the US, Canada, and Russia, but August is the month with the best visibility.
- Lyra is one of the easiest constellations to locate because it is part of the summer triangle, an asterism famous in the northern hemisphere formed by Altair, Deneb, and Vega.
- Lyra's brightest star is Vega, with an apparent magnitude of 0.03, the fifth brightest star in the night sky.
- The most notable nebula within the borders of Lyra is M57.
- The strongest meteor shower in Lyra is the "Lyrids" that occur in April each year.