Lacerta

Lacerta is one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Its name means "lizard" in Latin. This small constellation was created in 1687 by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius.

Lacerta is not very bright, but it has a special shape. The brightest stars in Lacerta form a “W” pattern, like the constellation Cassiopeia. Because of this, some people call Lacerta “Little Cassiopeia.”

You can spot Lacerta in the night sky between three other well-known constellations: Cygnus, Cassiopeia, and Andromeda. It is found in the northern part of the celestial sphere. Some of Lacerta’s stars belong to the Milky Way, our home galaxy. This makes Lacerta a fascinating area for stargazers and astronomers to explore.

Features

Lacerta is a small and faint constellation in the Milky Way. It doesn’t have any bright galaxies or globular clusters, but it does contain some interesting things like open clusters. One of these is NGC 7243, a group of stars that can be seen with small telescopes.

The constellation also has some special stars. Alpha Lacertae is a blue-white star that can be seen without a telescope. There are also stars that change in brightness, like EV Lacertae. One of its stars, BL Lacertae, is the name for a special kind of very bright object in space called a blazar.

History

Lacerta is a small and faint constellation. Ancient Western astronomers did not recognize it because it does not have bright stars. In 1687, the astronomer Johannes Hevelius created this constellation and named it "Stellio." This name came from a type of lizard with star-like spots found around the Mediterranean.

Other astronomers also tried to give this part of the sky different names. Augustin Royer called it Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae to honor Louis XIV. Johann Elert Bode named it Frederici Honores for Frederick the Great. Today, these older names are no longer used. Lacerta is the official name.

Equivalents

The stars of Lacerta were not in old star charts from Europe and the Near East. Early Chinese astronomers grouped these stars, with some from the nearby constellation Cygnus, into what they called the "Flying serpent." The Chumash people from California called this area of the sky 'Lizard' and used it in their stories.

Namesakes

The United States Navy had a ship called USS Lacerta (AKA-29). This ship was an attack cargo ship. It was named after the Lacerta constellation.