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Stars and Sticks| Abbreviation | Lac |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Lizard |
| Pronunciation Guide is based on “Pronouncing Astronomical Names,” published in 1943 by the American Astronomical Society. | luh-SER-tuh |
| Genitive The genitive is the Latin possessive form used in star names. For example, Alpha Orionis means “the Alpha of Orion.” | luh-SUR-tee |
| Best Month | October |
| Visibility | Northern |
| Origin | ModernAdded between the 17th and 18th centuries by astronomers like Hevelius or Plancius to define faint star clusters ignored by the ancients. |
| Author | HeveliusA Polish astronomer known as the "founder of lunar topography" who added several "filler" constellations using high-precision instruments. |
| Type | constellation |
| Difficulty | Challenging |
| Description | The Lizard was introduced by Johannes Hevelius in 1687 to fill a small gap of faint stars between the grand constellations of Cygnus and Andromeda. It has no mythological story — Hevelius simply needed a small creature to fit the space. Though inconspicuous, Lacerta sits in a rich region of the Milky Way and contains BL Lacertae — the prototype of an entire class of violently active galactic nuclei called 'blazars,' quasar-like objects whose powerful jets of energy point almost directly toward Earth, first classified as a variable star before their true nature was understood. The brightest star, Alpha Lacertae, is a white A-type star about 102 light-years away. |
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