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Lyra



Abbreviation: Lyr
Genitive: Lyrae
Right Ascension: 18.84 hours
Declination: 36.82 degrees
  Lyra, the Harp or Lyre, is best seen in June through October in the Northern Hemisphere.

Lyra the Lyre or Harp is the instrument invented by Hermes (Mercury) and given to Apollo his half-brother, who in turn gave it to his son Orpheus, the musician of the Argonauts.

In ancient times, the harp was placed in the claws of Aquila.

  Bright Stars | Deep Sky | Other Deep Sky | Variable Stars | Double Stars
 

Best Known Stars

(Yale Bright Star Catalog)
 
Common Name
or Bayer Number 1 		RA DEC Magnitude 2
VEGA 18.00:36.00:56.33 +38.00:47.00:1.17 0.03
SULAFAT 18.00:58.00:56.62 +32.00:41.00:22.42 3.24
SHELIAK 18.00:50.00:4.80 +33.00:21.00:45.65 3.30
R LYRAE 18.00:55.00:20.11 +43.00:56.00:45.99 3.90
THE LYR 19.00:16.00:22.09 +38.00:8.00:1.46 4.36
IOT LYR 19.00:7.00:18.12 +36.00:6.00:0.61 5.28
   
 

Deep Sky Objects

(PAS Catalog)

Delta Lyr

 Delta Lyr This double star is wide and easy to split, and shows a pretty orange and blue-white pair. ADS 11834 If you look at the Ring Nebula, give this pretty double star a glance. It is just north of the Ring, and is easily seen in the finder. It is easily split and presents a wonderful orange and blue contrast.

Epsolon Lyr

 Epsilon Lyr The famous 'double-double' is easily split into two components, but needs a steady night to further split these two into four. A very nice sight.

M-56

 M-56 This is a relatively bright globular cluster, about 5' in diameter, concentrated in the center, and faintly resolved across its face. It is visible in binoculars as a small, unresolved fuzzy spot.

M-57

 CCD images by Don Ware

M-57 The Ring Nebula. This one of my favorite objects, and was the first object I looked at through my first telescope, bypassing even Saturn. The ring shape is evident even at low powers, and holds up well to magnification. This showpiece object is bright enough to be seen even in severely light polluted area.
   
 

Other Deep Sky Objects

(Saguaro Astronomy Club Catalog)
  Only Objects less than 10.0 Mag.
 
Object R.A. Dec. Object Type 3 Mag. Uranometria Tirion
Steph 1 18 53.5 +36 55 OPNCL 03.8 117 08
NGC 6720 18 53.6 +33 02 PLNNB 09 117 08
NGC 6779 19 16.6 +30 11 GLOCL 08.3 118 08
NGC 6791 19 20.7 +37 51 OPNCL 09.5 118 08
   
 

Variable Stars

(General Catalog of Variable Stars)
  Only Objects <= 8.0 magnitude
 
GCVS ID R.A.
(hh mm ss.ss)		 Dec.
(deg mm ss)		 Variable Type 4 Mag. Min Mag. Max
R Lyr 18.00:53.00:48.70 +43.00:52.00:46.00 SRB 5.00 3.88
XY Lyr 18.00:36.00:27.30 +39.00:37.00:23.00 LC 6.35 5.80
V0398 Lyr 19.00:6.00:31.40 +39.00:4.00:27.00 LB 7.57 7.30
V0471 Lyr 19.00:9.00:50.80 +31.00:11.00:56.00 ACV 5.98 5.91
V0473 Lyr 19.00:13.00:59.10 +27.00:50.00:14.00 DCEPS: 6.35 5.99
V0478 Lyr 19.00:5.00:35.50 +30.00:10.00:24.00 RS 0.03 7.63
alf Lyr 18.00:35.00:14.70 +38.00:44.00:10.00 DSCTC 0.07 -0.02
bet Lyr 18.00:48.00:13.90 +33.00:18.00:13.00 EB 4.36 3.25
del 2 Lyr 18.00:52.00:45.20 +36.00:50.00:3.00 SRC: 4.33 4.22
   
 

Double Stars

(Saguaro Astronomy Club Catalog)
  Only Objects <= 8.0 magnitude
 
Name R.A.
(hh mm.m)		 Dec.
(deg mm)		 Mag 5 Sep 6 PA 7 Tirion Uranometria
STF 2351 18 36.2 41 17 7.7, 7.7 5.10 340 8 82
STF 37 18 44.3 39 40 4.6, 4.9 200.90 172 8 82/ 83/ 117
STF 37 18 44.3 39 40 5.1, 5.4 210.70 173 8 82/ 83/ 117
STF 37 18 44.3 39 40 6.1, 5.1 208.90 172 8 82/ 83/ 117
STF 37 18 44.3 39 40 6.1, 5.4 212.40 172 8 82/ 83/ 117
STF 2382 18 44.3 39 40 5.1, 6.1 2.60 356 8 82/ 83/ 117
STF 2383 18 44.3 39 40 5.1, 5.4 2.30 92 8 82/ 83/ 117
STF 38 18 44.7 37 36 4.3, 5.9 43.70 150 8 117
BETA LYR 18 50.0 33 24 3.5, 7.0 47.00 149 8 117
STG 525 18 54.9 33 57 6.1, 7.8 45.40 350 8 117
S 2487 19 13.7 39 12 4.0, 8.0 28.00 83 8 83/ 118
STT 181 19 20.1 26 39 7.6, 7.4 60.10 2 8 161