Constellations · Constellation · Lacertae · Lac
Constellation
Lacerta
The lizard, squeezed in 1687 between Cygnus and Andromeda. Its stars make a little zigzag.
- Genitive
- Lacertae
- Area
- 201 square degrees · 68th of 88
- Brightest star
- Stellio · magnitude 3.76
- Naked-eye stars
- 68 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- late August
History
Johannes Hevelius added it. The French astronomer Augustin Royer had already used the same stars for a sceptre for Louis XIV, which did not last.
Science
BL Lacertae, a “variable star” here, turned out to be the blazing core of a distant galaxy, its jet pointed at us — it gave its name to a whole class of objects.