What is the constellation Lyra?
Lira (lyra, λύρα), Lyra according to the Latin name applied by the International Astronomical Union to the 88 modern constellations – it is one of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations.
Lyra is a small constellation, but its main star, Vega, is one of the brightest in the sky. Vega is one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle asterism.
Main Stars Lyra
αLyrae
Vega (αLyrae), The vulture In Arabic, it is the brightest star in the world. Lyra constellation and it is the fifth brightest star in the sky. 3 times more massive than the Sun, Vega is a white star 50 times more luminous than the Sun. It is quite close to the solar system, about 25 light-years away.
With an apparent magnitude of almost zero (0.03), its color and proximity make it an ideal star for observation and Vega has served as a standard for measuring the BV index of other stars, which determines their color precisely.
Due to the precession of the equinoxes, Vega will be the pole star in about 10,000 years.
Vega, with Altair (α Aguilae) and Deneb (αCygni), forms the Summer Triangle asterism.
Other stars
Sheliak (β Lyrae) Harpa in Arabic, is the prototype of a class of variable stars called the β Lyrae type. These stars are, in fact, double stars in which the components eclipse each other at regular intervals and which are close enough to each other to be seriously deformed by tidal forces. In the case of Sheliak, the two components orbit in 12 days and regularly project filaments of hot gas.
δLyrae It is a triple star. The first two components can be easily separated with binoculars and you can see the beautiful contrast between the blue color of one and the red color of the other.
εLirae It is well known for being a double double: ε 1 and ε 2 are the two double stars in which the members are separated by 140 AU. ε 1 and ε 2 are about 10,000 AU apart and it is difficult to say whether the two pairs actually orbit each other. The four stars are similar, white stars about twice as massive as the Sun.
Lyra Deep Sky Objects
In the Lyra constellation, there is the famous annular planetary nebula M57, called the Ring Nebula, halfway between β and γ Lyrae. The ring is, in fact, a cloud of gas ejected by a central star. Despite being so well known, it is difficult to see with a small telescope and the central star is invisible, unless a high-powered one is used.
history
Lyra is an ancient constellation. Ancient civilizations in the Middle East and India saw a vulture. Greek astronomers saw a lyre and the oldest charts generally represented it with the claws of a vulture.
Mythology of the constellation Lyra
Within mythology, the Lyra constellation is the lyre of Orpheus. When he was still a child, Orpheus received a lyre from his father, Apollo. In time, Orpheus became a poet and musician, and was the best of singers. He sounded and sang so well that he tamed the beasts and even the trees leaned down to listen.
He was very in love with his wife, Eurydice, but one day she stepped on a poisonous snake, which bit his foot. Orpheus was so desperate that he decided to go to hell to look for her.
To go to hell, you have to cross the Styx in Charon’s boat. He did not want to take Orpheus, since he was still alive, but Orpheus enchanted him with his song and managed to reach the other shore.
The entrance gate to the land of the dead was guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed dog. Orpheus tamed the dog and was able to pass. The kings of hell, Hades and Persephone, were enchanted by Orpheus’ song and allowed him to take her wife, but with one condition: he could not speak to her or look at her until they had gone out into the outside world.
Orpheus walked all the way without looking at Eurydice, but at the last moment, when they were already at the edge of the Styx, fearing that Hades had deceived her, he turned to look at her, and at that moment she disappeared.
Orpheus, devastated, dedicated himself to wandering the world, lamenting for having lost Eurydice, a singer and playing sad music with his lyre. He didn’t want to be with any other woman; This angered a group of Bacchae who, when they felt rejected, killed him. Apollo, his father, turned the women into oaks and raised his lyre to the sky, becoming the constellation Lyra.
Orpheus’s body was buried at the foot of Mount Olympus, in a place where nightingales sing with a sweeter sound.