Lacerta constellation lies in the northern sky, between Andromeda and Cygnus. Its name means “the lizard” in Latin.
Lacerta was created by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. It is a small, faint constellation that is sometimes referred to as Little Cassiopeia because its brightest stars form a “W” shape, just like the stars in the considerably larger Cassiopeia constellation.
The brightest stars in Lacerta are only of fourth magnitude and none of them have proper names. There are no myths associated with the constellation.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Lacerta is the 68th constellation in size, occupying an area of 201 square degrees. It is located in the fourth quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ4) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -40°. The neighboring constellations are Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cygnus and Pegasus.
Lacerta belongs to the Perseus family of constellations, along with Andromeda, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cetus, Pegasus, Perseus and Triangulum.
Lacerta has one star with known planets and contains no Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Alpha Lacertae, with an apparent magnitude of 3.76. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.
STORY
The name Lacerta does not come from mythology. Johannes Hevelius introduced the constellation in Firmamentum Sobiescianum, his star atlas published in 1690.
He gave the constellation an alternative name, Stellio, after a type of lizard known as a starred agama, but this name was not used much and soon fell into oblivion.
0 Comments