Constellation Lacerta (Lizard)
Properties
Lacerta is a constellation that fills a 201 square degree gap between the large, bright constellations. The constellation is poor in bright stars, expressionless and therefore a little difficult to find. It is located between Cygnus and Andromeda, roughly same declination with Deneb. The northernmost part lies in the band of the Milky Way and the centre culminates around midnight on August 28th. [9, 15]
| IAU Name | Lacerta |
| IAU Genitive | Lacertae |
| IAU Abbr. | Lac |
| English Name | Lizard |
| Culmination at local midnight | 29 August |
| Season (Latitude +46.8°) | January … December |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 21h 57m 30s … 22h 57m 52s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | +35° 09' 56" … +56° 55' 05" |
| Area | 201 deg2 |
| Neighbours (N↻) | Cep, Cyg, Peg, And, Cas |
Deep-Sky Object Descriptions
Catalogues
History
The constellation was only introduced by Johannes Hevelius from Danzig towards the end of the 17th century. The French Augustin Royer proposed the name of the scepter and the hand of Justitia for this area in 1697 in memory of King Louis XIV. The German astronomer Johann Elert Bode named the constellation Gloria in 1787 in honor of Frederick the Great Prussia. These two strongly political proposals were later dropped in favour of a neutral lizard (Lacerta). [7]