Mysteries of Lyra

By John Raymond

Lyra is a prominent and fascinating constellation that passes overhead for us in the mid-northern latitudes. Its visible most of the year. It has one of the brightest stars, Vega. The other bright stars are famous multiples: Epsilon, Zeta, Delta, Beta, Theta, and Eta. It has two bright Messier objects, planetary M57 and globular M56. Every year starting in March i love to observe the sights in Lyra and continue until November when its too low in the west after sunset. What other wonders does it contain? I have made a list of the binocular and telescopic sights suitable for small apertures. The well read observer will of course have Burnham’s Celestial Handbook as a start, then Night Sky Observer’s Guide for a more comprehensive list. Modern astronomers have software and apps like Stellarium, SkyTools, and SkySafari to assist with navigation and identification. I admit my list is pretty much superfluous for serious observers.

Why mysteries? The central part of Lyra with the brighter stars is a very distinctive formation. The bright stars and location of famous M57 draw our attention and the rest of the constellation is ignored. The northern and southern areas lack bright stars yet are full of obscure sights. (See Figure 1)

How this list was generated:

Over several years I have observed all of the sky within the borders of Lyra with large and small apertures. My method is to start at one corner of the constellation and proceed east or west along one degree of declination. My list starts in the southernmost part of the constellation along declination +26 and ends at +47. Many areas were lacking in anything notable. Most of the list is double stars, especially the brighter Struve doubles. Of the several hundred observations, only those I marked as notable were included.

Of deep sky objects I have only included one planetary nebula (M57) out of 4 observed, and one galaxy (NGC 6703) as the rest are faint. Only one open cluster (NGC 6743) and one globular (M56). (See Figure 2)

Star names: Stars are listed by proper name for the brighter, then Bayer Greek letters, Flamsteed numbers, then catalog names HR, HD, SAO, BD or variable designation. More than one name is given to aid identification. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_catalog.

Stars can be viewed here WIKISKY.ORG – Interactive Sky Map http://www.sky-map.org/

Double magnitudes, separations in seconds or minutes, and PA angle in degrees are in parentheses. All information is courtesy of SkySafari. Most numbers have been rounded for simplicity. The double catalog name can be searched here https://www.stelledoppie.it/index2.php?section=1

Object List

Number	Name	RA	Dec	Description
1	HD 178539 group	19 08	26 02	Prominent triangle approx 12’ long. Comprised of wide double with orange primary GRF 5, (HD 178539 + HD 337722 mags 7.2+8.7, 84” 38°); conspicuous double STF 2459 (HD 178354 9+10, 14” 232°); eastern vertex is star HD 178618
2	HD 336331 group	18 34	26 40	Apparent double HD 336331 and HD 336332 (mag 10.6 +11, Sep 24” PA 314) , plus second double 5’ west (red TYC 2114-1709-1) and third 2’ north.
3	HD 173549	18 45	26 13	Apparent double (mag 8 + 10, 31” PA 334) with curling line of stars 9’ north
4	HD 175084 group	18 53	26 42	Conspicuous skinny triangle 12’ tall with faint pentagon just E of vertex
5	HR 7202 and 7181	19 02	26 19	Color contrast pair for binoculars (5.7+5.3, 21’ 260°) just north of Vulpecula-Hercules junction
6	HJ 1333	18 39	27 07	HD 336569. Close equal double some color contrast (9.5+10.3, 2.8” 226°)
7	STF 2371	18 43	27 39	HD 173053. Easy pair (9.6+10, 9.7” 55°)
8	STF 2374	18 44	27 44	HD 336775. Easy pair with wide third(A-B 9.6+9.4 , 13” 40° . A-C 9.6+10.4 , 151” 358°)
9	OR Lyrae	18 58	27 42	= double A 259. Deep orange M5 star with faint companion (9.6, 12.6, 2.7″ 62°)
10	Espin 479 and AG 370	19 02	27 19	Two doubles 7’ apart with orange M0 star HD 337408 in fov 9’ north. Es 479 (HD 337412 , 9.3+10.5, 8.1” 142°) Ag 370 (BD +27 3204, 9.5+10.5, 3.9” 341°)
11	STF 2458	19 07	27 47	HD 337517. Easy pair with wide third. A-B 9.7+10.4, 11” 227°. A-C 9.7+8.6, 71” 62°
12	AG 376	19 15	28 56	= TYC 2135-1398-1. Nice double ( 9.3+9.7, 4.6” 78°)
13	SAO 86730	19 03	28 14	nice orange mag 8.4 M0 star
14	HR 7112	18 52	28 48	Bright orange star with wide companion HD 174692 (6.2+7.8, 5’ 39” 99°) with two faint orange stars in field 6’ 44” south.
15	HJ 1347	18 48	28 26	Nice triple = SAO 86437. (A-B 9.1+10 19” 274°; A-C 9.1+9.7 76” 165°)
16	STF 2381	18 46	28 16	HD 173702 (8.2+10.4, 8.6” 122°)
17	V473 Lyr	19 16	27 57	Mag 6.1 star with 3 wide comapnions including double Hough 447 (11.7+9.5, 2.4” 170°) located 2’ east.
18	STT 371	19 16	27 29	Wide pair (A-C 7+9.8, 48” 271°)
19	HD 181330	19 20	27 18	Relatively bright orange mag 6.8 K5 star
20	HD 338047	19 18	27 52	Faint but conspicuous semicircular asterism 13’x4’
21	STF 2327, STF 2328, KUI 118	18 30	29 56	Triple doubles within 6’ FOV. STF 2327 =HD 170618 (8.3+12.2, 20” 315°) STF 2328 = HD170669 (8.9+9.5, 3.7” 72°) Kuiper 118 = SAO 86120 (9.1+9.3, 50” 323°)
22	SAO 86443	18 48	29 04	= double WDS 18476+2903 (8.6+11.3, 19″ 229°) Second star in E-W arc of four, 10′ wide
23	STF 2419	18 56	29 15	SAO 86588, Lovely double (9.3+9.4, 3.4” 177°)
24	SAO 86667	19 00	29 50	Western end of faint star stream 15’ long
25	NGC 6743	19 02	29 19	Obscure open cluster, = wide double HJ 1361 (8.5+11.8, 18” 162°) surrounded by faint stars.
26	HR 7244	19 06	29 57	Nice orange mag 6.3 type M0 star
27	STF 2466	19 08	29 50	HD 178592 (8+9, 2.4” 104°)
28	HD 180240	19 15	29 46	Wide apparent color contrast pair with orange SAO 86973 (8.6+8.8, 38” 332°)
29	M56	19 17	30 13	Lovely globular in rich field.
30	Arrow to M56	19 16	30 33	Four bright stars (17 Lyr, HR 7327, 19 Lyr, and HR 7302 ) halfway between Gamma Lyrae and Albireo in Cygnus, points to M56 and Albireo, tip of the arrow is orange HR 7302 only 25’ northwest of the globular. Arrow is 2.5° long. See image 2
31	Reverse Arrow of M56	19 16	30 33	Conspicuous asterism of five prominent stars curving north 43’ from HR7302, then five east to SAO 68117. Arrow point is 1° north of M56 abd points opposite of the first arrow. See image 2
32	STF 2483	19 13	30 23	HD 179709. Slightly unequal white/blue double with several stars in fov. (8+9.1, 10” 318)
33	STF 2376	18 46	35 33	SAO 67327. Nice double (9.4+10, 21” 198°) with wide third
34	STF 2367	18 42	30 18	HD 172865. Lovely yellow primary (A-C 7.1+8.8, 14” 192”) Orange star HD 172762 located 10’ in Fov for color comparison
35	STF 2359 & 2358	18 39	30 46	Pair of doubles 2’ 16” apart with third 10th mag star forming conspicuous triangle. STF 2359 = HD 172362 (A-B 9+11.7, 24” 293°) STF 2358 (9.8+10.2, 2.5” 224°)
36	OQ Lyrae	18 57	31 13	Two small conspicuous skinny triangles. OQ Lyr (SAO 67609) is the vertex of the southern; HD 176023 is the vertex of the northern located 11’ to the north.
37	HR Lyrae	19 05	31 46	Bright orange star, = HR 7237 Spectral Type M0
38	19 Lyrae	19 12	31 19	Bright blue-white stars with several faint pairs in field
39	HD 181750	19 21	32 08	Blue white B7 star with wide yellow-orange K5 companion SAO 68165 (6.8+8.7, 177” 89°)
40	17 Lyr	19 08	32 32	Multiple star Struve 2461 (A-B 5.3+9.1, 3.2” 286°) with many other stars in field like a poor open cluster.
41	Lambda λ Lyr	19 00	32 10	15 Lyr. Wide orange binocular companion of Sulafat (Gamma Lyr)
42	Sulafat / γ Lyr	18 59	32 43	Prominent naked eye star, one corner of the parallelogram part of the constellation figure. Important skymark for finding M57. Bright white star in rich field.
43	GYL 12 and BKO 55	18 59	32 18	Pair of faint doubles 5’ apart and located 24’ west of Lambda. Goyal 12 (10.4+11.2, 20” 146°) Ladanyi 55 (10.8+11, 15” 161°)
44	HD 175700	18 56	32 37	Wide pair of yellow stars with HD 175717 (7.7+8.1, 161” 30°) Half a degree SE of M57
45	HD 175150	18 53	32 25	Orange star in conspicuous four star group 2/3 degree south of M57.
46	M57 Ring Nebula	18 54	33 03	Bright conspicuous donut like nebula. Visible in 10×50 binoculars as a tiny out of focus “star”
47	Sheliak / β Lyr	18 50	33 23	Bright famous variable and multiple star. Has three wide companions making a stubby arrow with Beta in the center. In binoculars has two streams for stars extending approx 2° NW and 4° SW, plus two bright wide companions ν¹ and ν² to the south.
48	STF 2333	18 31	32 15	HD 171026. Nice double (7.8+8.6, 6.4” 333°)
49	STF 2349	18 37	33 29	HR 6997. Unequal double (5.4+9.4 . 7” 204°) in loose group.
50	STT 525	18 55	33 59	HR 7140. Wide color contrast pair (A-C 6.1+7.6 , 45” 350°) approx 1 degree north of M57
51	STF 2421	18 56	33 48	HD 175885. Nice double almost 1° northwest of M57 (9.6+9.3, 24” 57°)
52	Lyra Box	19 01	33 50	Conspicuous quadrilateral 1° NW of Gamma , consists of HR 7204, HD 176775, HR 7212, and HD 176913
53	HR 7335	19 19	33 25	Bright blue white star surrounded by fainter in distinctive group
54	HR 7359	19 23	33 33	Wide binocular pair of yellow stars with HR 7368 (6.1+6.8, 22’ 145°)
55	STF 2470 and 2474	19 09	34 47	The other double-double in Lyra. Striking pair of doubles in same field. HD 178849 (7 and 8.4, 14” 268°) and HR 7272 (6.8 and 7.9, 16” 263°)
56	HD 177593	19 04	34 11	Wide white and yelllow pair with HD 177698. (7.3+7.2, 5’54” 131°)
57	STF 2372	18 42	34 46	HR 7033. Conspicuous double. (6.5+7.7, 25” 83°)
58	STF 2505	19 20	35 34	HD 181658. Nice. (8.2+9.5, 11” 315°)
59	V557 Lyr	19 26	36 13	Lovely orange star on Cygnus border. Very rich field. Only 8’ south of bright 4 Cygni.
60	HD 180138	19 14	36 27	Brighter star surrounded by many fainter. Just 23’ SW is a distinctive 5 star group with HD 179782.
61	Delta Lyrae/ Ste 1	18 55	36 55	Delta 1 and Delta 2 are a wide amazing color contrast pair with many faint stars in between in a geometrical shape, aka open cluster Stephenson 1. A definite hazy patch in 10×50 binoculars.
62	HK Lyr	18 43	36 58	One of three brighter carbon stars in Lyra with T and U Lyr. Only ¾ degree SW of Zeta Lyr. At northeast end of distinctive curl of stars.
63	T Lyr	18 33	37 00	One of the reddest stars visible to amateurs. 2 degrees southwest of Vega at PA 207°
64	Kappa Lyr	18 20	36 04	Lonely yellow star on Hercules border.
65	Zeta Lyr	18 45	37 37	Magnificent double Burnham 968 (A-D 4.3+5.6, 44” 150°)
66	STF 2472	19 09	37 56	HD 178848. Four stars visible in group. (A-B 8.4+10.4, 23” 339°)
67	NGC 6791	19 21	37 48	Challenging faint large rich open cluster 1 degree SW of Theta Lyr at PA 112°.
68	U Lyr	19 20	37 55	Faint very red star in tiny equalateral triangle approx 1’ side. On outskirts of NGC 6791 in direction of Theta.
69	HD 181180	19 21	38 28	Wide apparent pair with HD 181850. Orange and white with fainter star in between. (8.4+8.9, 111” 214°)
70	Theta θ Lyr	19 17	38 10	Striking orange star in rich field. Also very wide double SHJ 292 (4.5 and 10, 99” 70°) Also binocular color contrast pair with Eta
71	Theta-Eta string	19 17	38 10	The entire field around orange Theta and blue Eta is full of stars and interesting fields. In binoculars, these two are the northwest end of a long conspicuous sinuous string of stars that meanders southeast for 6° and terminates 1° west of star 8 Cygni. See image 3
72	V542 Lyr	18 58	38 17	Lovely blue white star with 4 wide companions in lovely arrangement 4’ north to south.
73	STF 2393	18 45	38 20	HD 173741. Very orange with faint companion (7.8+10.4, 18” 24°)
74	Vega α Lyr	18 37	38 48	Bright white summer star.
75	STTA 171	18 33	38 58	HD 171384 Conspicuous wide double 3/4° west of Vega (7+8.1, 150” 328°)
76	XY Lyr	18 38	39 41	HR 7009. Distinctive orange star almost 1° north of Vega and just over 1° west of Epsilon.
77	BLL 35	18 44	39 19	HR 7041. Colorful orange star with faint companion only 22’ SW of Epsilon. (6.6+10.4, 61” 192°)
78	Epsilon ε Lyr	18 45	39 41	Famous multiple star Struve 2382. (A-B 5.2+6.1, 2.2” 346° C-D 5.3+5.4 2.4” 74° )
79	Eta η Lyr	19 14	39 11	Lovely double star STF 2481 (4.4+8.6 28” 81°) Just 7’ SW is wide double SHJ 289 (8+8.7 39” 56°) Orange HD 180186 lies 10.5’ south, good color constrast with Eta.
80	STF 2431	18 59	40 42	V543 Lyr. Lovely double with blue white primary. Just 17’ east is orange V547 Lyr.
81	HD 175841 group	18 56	40 12	Prominent bell curve shaped group 2° east of Epsilon. Visible as a tiny hazy patch in 10×50 binoculars.
82	STF 2351	18 36	41 17	HD 172068. Equal pair (7.6+7.6, 5.1” 160°) with wide double Ary 14 just 25’ east , = SAO 47601 (A-C 8.5+9.4, 119” 356°)
83	HR 7073	18 46	41 27	Blue white star with wide orange binocular companion V537 Lyr (6+7.9, 6’ 17” 250°)
84	V550 Lyr	19 07	41 26	HR 7258. Bright blue star in loose group of abour 12 stars about ¼ degree across.
85	RR Lyr	19 26	42 49	HD 182989. Famous variable sits in a rich field.
86	HD 176229 Starfield	18 58	42 07	HD is a wide double with SAO 47949 (7.3+9.2, 105” 324°) Four star curl HD 175939 lies 18’ NW. Then 20’ west is orange HD 175884 with four faint companions in a small group.
87	Espin 21	18 33	42 01	BD +41 3084. Faint equal pair (10.5+10.5, 7.2” 109°) in field just south of wide color contrast pair HD 171504 and SAO 47588 (9+9.1, 108” 189°)
88	HR 6845	18 16	42 09	Lonely blue star on Hercules border. So sad.
89	V528 Lyr	18 24	43 55	HD 169746. Lovely orange star in group of faint stars.
90	HD 174020 Starfield	18 47	43 35	Orange star at south end of starfield extending 1° north.
91	13 Lyr	18 56	43 58	Conspicuous orange star.
92	HJ 1374	19 10	44 35	HD 179367. Unequal double (7.3+11, 13.4 119°) in group of six stars in two triangles.
93	STF 2380	18 43	44 56	HD 173999. Bright easy double (7.2+8.7, 26” 8°) with yellow primary
94	NGC 6703	18 47	45 34	The easiest galaxy to see in Lyra. Very faint with averted vision, 120mm aperture and 41x under suburban skies.
95	HJ 1356	18 57	45 32	HD 176071. Wide pair (8.4+9.4, 29” 342°)
96	16 Lyr	19 02	46 57	The northernmost bright star of Lyra.
97	HJ 1339	18 41	46 06	HD 172898. Pale and dark orange unequal pair (8.4+10.1, 26” 321°)
98	HD 171654	18 34	46 14	Conspicuous four star, L shaped asterism.
99	STT 352	18 27	46 49	Nice unequal double (7.8+9.4, 24” 221°)
100	HD 173415	18 43	47 35	Apparent unequal double (7+10.6, 65” 284°) and binocular double with orange HD 173630 (7+6.7, 11’ 77°)