Lacerta Constellation Facts, Star Map and Myth of The Lizard

About Lacerta, The Lizard

Lacerta Constellation is one of 88 constellations recognised by the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.). A constellation is a pattern of stars in a recognisable shape that is supposed to resemble an object, animal or mythical person. An object or animal may be mythical (e.g. Draco) or exist in the real world (e.g. Toucan).

Grammatical

Lacerta is a Latin name which in English means The Lizard. Lacerta constellation pronounciation is Lac-er-ta. It can be when refering to the constellation shortened or abbreviated to Lac.

The genetive form is Lacertae, this means anything that has at the end of its name infers a relationship to the constellation in some form or other, normally it is within the borders of the constellation or was once, until the borders were redrawn.

Origins

It was not one of the original constellations that had been devised by Ptolemy, instead it was created by Johannes Hevelius years later.

Lacerta is not a member of the Zodiac group of twelve constellations that appear when the Sun sets. The Zodiac constellations are the ones that astrologers use to predict a persons future based on the date when they were born.

Size

Lacerta (Constellation) takes up 200.688 sq. degrees of the night sky which equates to 0.49% of the night sky. Lacerta is the 68th largest in terms of size in the night sky. Constellations are not equally sized.

Lacerta has 7 stars that make up the constellation. The hipparcos satellite scanned and detailed 882 stars. There are 77 stars that can be seen with the naked eye in the constellation on a very clear night sky.

Location

Lacerta is a northern celestial hemispheric constellation. Lacerta lies north of the Ecliptic which is different to the Celestial Equator. The Celestial Equator is the projection of the terrestrial equator into space. The Ecliptic is the path that the Earth takes round the Sun. The Earth is titled at 23.44° which is why the two differ. The Zodiac constellations are based on the Ecliptic.

Miscellaneous Facts

There are 3 Extrasolar Planets (Exoplanets) in this constellation that are detailed on this site. There is a dedicated page for exoplanets in Lacerta.

The current largest star so far identified in the constellation of Lacerta is U Lacertae.

There are no deep space objects that were identified by Charles Messier in this constellation.

There are 2 non-Messier deep space objects that are covered on this site and the list is below.

Lacerta Distance From Earth

You can't just go to one location and arrive at the constellation because the constellation is made up of stars at different locations and different distances. The nearest main star in the constellation is at a distance of 102.60 light years and the furthest main star is a distance of 2,249.40 light years. The average distance to the main stars is 1,008.84 light years.

Because of the distance of objects in Lacerta, we are not seeing as they look now but how they looked in the past. To know how far back we are looking, take the distance and remove the word "Light" and you will get an understanding of how far back we are seeing that object.

Lacerta Star Map

The image below was generated using Night Vision, a free to use and download application by Brian Simpson.

As all the stars in the Milky Way revolve around the Sagittarius A*, the Supermassive Black Hole at the centre of our galaxy at different speeds and distances, in the future the constellation will not look like it does today. When talking future, we are talking hundreds of thousands and millions of years.

Major Lacerta Constellation Stars

The caveat of these stars are that they are catalogued on this site. If you know of a star that is nearer or further then do let me know in the comments and I'll add it to the site. The stars mentioned are from the Hipparcos catalogue or have been added because of their special status.

EV Lacertae, Lacerta's Nearest Star

The nearest star to Earth is EV Lacertae which is roughly about 16.71 Light Years from the Earth. The nearest star to the Earth with an exoplanet is 2M 2236+4751 which is about 63 Light Years.

HIP 109105, Lacerta's Furthest Star

The furthest star that is located in the constellation is HIP 109105 and it is 163081.7 light years away from the Sun. The furthest figure is derived from either the 1997 or 2007 Hipparcos star catalogue parallax figure and it has been known to produce distances that are wrong.

Alpha Lacertae, Brightest Star in Lacerta

The brightest star in Lacerta is Alpha Lacertae and is located about 102.60 light years from the Sun.The star has a apparent magnitude of 3.76 but an absolute magnitude of 1.27 when the star is viewed from a distance of 10 Parsecs or 32.6 Light Years. The star is recognised as being the brightest in the constellation as it has the Bayer status of Alpha.

HD 214878, Lacerta's Dimmest Visible Star

The dimmest star that can be seen in Lacerta with the naked eye is HD 214878. The dim star has an apparent magnitude of 5.94. The dimmest star that a person is able to see with their naked eye is 6.0 magnitude based on the table in the reference. Ref: University of Michigan.

Interesting Fun Facts

• A star in Lacerta was chosen to be renamed by a competition winner in Lithuania, The new name for the star was Taika and the orbiting planet was named Vytis.

Lacerta Mythology

Created by Johannes Hevelius in around 1687 and recognised by the International Astronomical Union. It is not a bright constellation, it fits in between the constellations of Andromeda and Cygnus. Of comments I've seen, not a terribly liked constellation.

Lacerta, The Lizard Facts

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