Lyra the Harp contains Vega, a summer gem


Star chart showing constellation Lyra with stars and nebula labeled.
The constellation Lyra the Harp. It’s made of a triangle and a parallelogram. Its brightest star is Vega. Then, look next to it for the famous Epsilon Lyrae, a double-double star, really 4 stars in all.

Yes, Lyra is a small constellation, 52nd out of the 88 constellations. But it has a big presence. That’s because its bright star Vega is prominent in northern summer skies and it’s a corner of the famous Summer Triangle star pattern. Vega shines at magnitude 0.03, which makes it the 5th brightest star in Earth’s sky, or the 2nd brightest star belonging to just the Northern Hemisphere. Vega is so bright because it lies just 25 light-years away.

Lyra is described as a harp, lyre or stringed instrument. And it’s one of the constellations that Ptolemy named back in the 2nd century.

How to find Lyra

The easiest way to find Lyra is to look directly overhead on summer evenings in the Northern Hemisphere. The brightest star closest to the zenith on a summer night after the sky gets dark is Vega. It will get closer to the zenith and pass through it as the evening turns to morning.

Once you find Vega, wait until your eyes are dark adjusted so that you can make out the parallelogram dangling below it. Then, when you look back toward Vega, can you trace out a small triangle shape attached to the parallelogram? That star in the small triangle and which is not part of the parallelogram – or Vega – is Epsilon Lyrae, and we’ll get to it later.

Sky chart with large purple triangle with star Vega at top and small constellation Lyra below it.
Here are the 3 stars of the Summer Triangle, in the east in the evening in July. You can see the outline of Vega’s constellation, Lyra. You can see the Summer Triangle in the evening from around May through the end of the year.

A hotbed of double stars

Now that we’ve met Vega (Alpha Lyrae), let’s meet the other stars in the Harp. The two stars in the parallelogram closest to Vega are the dimmer of the four stars. These two stars are both double stars. The double star directly below Vega is Zeta Lyrae. The stars in this pair have magnitudes 4.34 and 5.73. They lie just 44 arcseconds from each other and 150 light-years away from us. Of course, a telescope can easily split the pair, but a good pair of binoculars may work as well.

The next double star in the parallelogram consists of Delta 1 and 2 Lyrae. The brighter star has magnitude 4.22, and the dimmer is of magnitude 5.58. They lie 10 arcminutes from each other, so you can easily split them in binoculars. The Delta 1 and 2 stars lie 1,080 and 898 light-years away, respectively.

Finally, the last double hovering around Vega is Epsilon Lyrae, which completes the small triangle near Vega. Epsilon Lyra is more famously known as the Double Double. A telescope reveals that this double star is actually a quadruple system. Epsilon 1 lies 3 1/2 arcminutes from Epsilon 2. The Epsilon 1 stars have magnitudes 4.7 and 6.2, and the Epsilon 2 stars have magnitudes 5.1 and 5.5. This multiple star system lies about 160 light-years away.

Two close together white dots on left and two more close together white dots on right, on a black background.
A photo of Epsilon Lyrae, the Double-Double star in the constellation Lyra the Harp. See how each component in this double star system is also 2 stars? Image via Nikolay Nikolov/ Wikimedia Commons.

The rest of the stars of the Harp

Next, continuing on down to the bottom of the parallelogram, we find the stars Beta Lyrae, or Sheliak, and Sulafat, or Gamma Lyrae. Sulafat is the star farthest from Vega. It shines at magnitude 3.25 at a distance of 635 light-years. Sheliak is the last star in the parallelogram and – surprise! – it is also a double star. The main star has a magnitude of 3.52 and its companion is of magnitude 7.14. You can split this eclipsing binary in large telescopes.

A star map with stars in black on white showing the locations of stars in Lyra.
The stars of Lyra. Vega is represented by the large black circle, indicating its brightness relative to other stars. Image via IAU/ Sky & Telescope/ Wikimedia Commons.

Deep-sky objects in Lyra

Two Messier objects reside in Lyra. First, is a planetary nebula, M57, also known as the Ring Nebula. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most observed objects of its type in the sky. It shines at magnitude 9.0 from about 2,300 light-years away. Luckily, it’s easy to find by looking between the bottom two stars of the parallelogram, Sheliak and Sulafat. Use a telescope to catch its oval glow.

Bright pale greenish ring with lots of background stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Terhune in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, captured this telescopic view of Messier 57, the Ring Nebula, on June 18, 2022. Michael wrote: “Here is a really bright beautiful target known as the Ring Nebula or M57 located in the constellation Lyra. Was really happy I was able to pick up the distant background galaxy as well!” Thank you, Michael!

Then a little more than halfway from Sulafat, the bottom star in the parallelogram, and Albireo, the bright double star at the end of Cygnus, you’ll find M56, a loose globular cluster. M56 is a magnitude 8.3 grouping orbiting the Milky Way, lying almost 33,000 light-years away.

Star field with a central concentration of dots.
M56 is a globular cluster in Lyra. Image via Hunter Wilson/ Wikimedia Commons.

Bottom line: Lyra the Harp is a constellation that hosts the second brightest star in the northern sky, Vega. Look for it on summer nights.

The post Lyra the Harp contains Vega, a summer gem first appeared on EarthSky.



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Star chart showing constellation Lyra with stars and nebula labeled.
The constellation Lyra the Harp. It’s made of a triangle and a parallelogram. Its brightest star is Vega. Then, look next to it for the famous Epsilon Lyrae, a double-double star, really 4 stars in all.

Yes, Lyra is a small constellation, 52nd out of the 88 constellations. But it has a big presence. That’s because its bright star Vega is prominent in northern summer skies and it’s a corner of the famous Summer Triangle star pattern. Vega shines at magnitude 0.03, which makes it the 5th brightest star in Earth’s sky, or the 2nd brightest star belonging to just the Northern Hemisphere. Vega is so bright because it lies just 25 light-years away.

Lyra is described as a harp, lyre or stringed instrument. And it’s one of the constellations that Ptolemy named back in the 2nd century.

How to find Lyra

The easiest way to find Lyra is to look directly overhead on summer evenings in the Northern Hemisphere. The brightest star closest to the zenith on a summer night after the sky gets dark is Vega. It will get closer to the zenith and pass through it as the evening turns to morning.

Once you find Vega, wait until your eyes are dark adjusted so that you can make out the parallelogram dangling below it. Then, when you look back toward Vega, can you trace out a small triangle shape attached to the parallelogram? That star in the small triangle and which is not part of the parallelogram – or Vega – is Epsilon Lyrae, and we’ll get to it later.

Sky chart with large purple triangle with star Vega at top and small constellation Lyra below it.
Here are the 3 stars of the Summer Triangle, in the east in the evening in July. You can see the outline of Vega’s constellation, Lyra. You can see the Summer Triangle in the evening from around May through the end of the year.

A hotbed of double stars

Now that we’ve met Vega (Alpha Lyrae), let’s meet the other stars in the Harp. The two stars in the parallelogram closest to Vega are the dimmer of the four stars. These two stars are both double stars. The double star directly below Vega is Zeta Lyrae. The stars in this pair have magnitudes 4.34 and 5.73. They lie just 44 arcseconds from each other and 150 light-years away from us. Of course, a telescope can easily split the pair, but a good pair of binoculars may work as well.

The next double star in the parallelogram consists of Delta 1 and 2 Lyrae. The brighter star has magnitude 4.22, and the dimmer is of magnitude 5.58. They lie 10 arcminutes from each other, so you can easily split them in binoculars. The Delta 1 and 2 stars lie 1,080 and 898 light-years away, respectively.

Finally, the last double hovering around Vega is Epsilon Lyrae, which completes the small triangle near Vega. Epsilon Lyra is more famously known as the Double Double. A telescope reveals that this double star is actually a quadruple system. Epsilon 1 lies 3 1/2 arcminutes from Epsilon 2. The Epsilon 1 stars have magnitudes 4.7 and 6.2, and the Epsilon 2 stars have magnitudes 5.1 and 5.5. This multiple star system lies about 160 light-years away.

Two close together white dots on left and two more close together white dots on right, on a black background.
A photo of Epsilon Lyrae, the Double-Double star in the constellation Lyra the Harp. See how each component in this double star system is also 2 stars? Image via Nikolay Nikolov/ Wikimedia Commons.

The rest of the stars of the Harp

Next, continuing on down to the bottom of the parallelogram, we find the stars Beta Lyrae, or Sheliak, and Sulafat, or Gamma Lyrae. Sulafat is the star farthest from Vega. It shines at magnitude 3.25 at a distance of 635 light-years. Sheliak is the last star in the parallelogram and – surprise! – it is also a double star. The main star has a magnitude of 3.52 and its companion is of magnitude 7.14. You can split this eclipsing binary in large telescopes.

A star map with stars in black on white showing the locations of stars in Lyra.
The stars of Lyra. Vega is represented by the large black circle, indicating its brightness relative to other stars. Image via IAU/ Sky & Telescope/ Wikimedia Commons.

Deep-sky objects in Lyra

Two Messier objects reside in Lyra. First, is a planetary nebula, M57, also known as the Ring Nebula. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most observed objects of its type in the sky. It shines at magnitude 9.0 from about 2,300 light-years away. Luckily, it’s easy to find by looking between the bottom two stars of the parallelogram, Sheliak and Sulafat. Use a telescope to catch its oval glow.

Bright pale greenish ring with lots of background stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Terhune in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, captured this telescopic view of Messier 57, the Ring Nebula, on June 18, 2022. Michael wrote: “Here is a really bright beautiful target known as the Ring Nebula or M57 located in the constellation Lyra. Was really happy I was able to pick up the distant background galaxy as well!” Thank you, Michael!

Then a little more than halfway from Sulafat, the bottom star in the parallelogram, and Albireo, the bright double star at the end of Cygnus, you’ll find M56, a loose globular cluster. M56 is a magnitude 8.3 grouping orbiting the Milky Way, lying almost 33,000 light-years away.

Star field with a central concentration of dots.
M56 is a globular cluster in Lyra. Image via Hunter Wilson/ Wikimedia Commons.

Bottom line: Lyra the Harp is a constellation that hosts the second brightest star in the northern sky, Vega. Look for it on summer nights.

The post Lyra the Harp contains Vega, a summer gem first appeared on EarthSky.



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