Lyra

Lyra Parallelogram

Lyra's lyre

common observer pattern · high confidence

Vega dominates Lyra, but the little parallelogram below it holds the Ring Nebula between Beta and Gamma. Naked-eye it is compact; a small scope gives the famous payoff.

Central RA: 18^h 49^m 02.9^s
Central Dec: +35° 52′ 05″
Brightest member: V 0.03
Best months from 50°N: June–September evenings
Suggested instrument: naked-eye
Approx. span: 7.6°

Finder context

This wider chart is deliberately schematic: it uses nearby bright-star context and boxes the asterism’s member-star footprint, but it does not draw official constellation boundaries or promise horizon/season precision.

Framing: Approximate member-star span: 7.6°; use at least 10.6° field for context.

Observing and imaging

Naked eye

Primary naked-eye pattern; suburban skies should show the main stars unless the description notes a low horizon or dark-sky need.

Binoculars

Binoculars are optional: use them to check colours, nearby doubles, or richer Milky Way background.

Small scope

A telescope is usually too narrow for the whole shape; use it after the pattern has guided you to a target.

Imaging

Frame as a wide-field scene in/near Lyra; a field of view around 11° keeps context without claiming exact constellation boundaries.

Observability from your latitude

Uses this asterism’s centroid RA/Dec: transit altitude, hours above 20°, and a month-scale evening window. Default is Edmonton-ish 50°N.

Latitude 50°NMonth Sky darkness Bortle 4 · limit V 6.1

Naked-eye visibility by sky class

Approximate limiting magnitudes: Bortle 3 ≈ V 6.6, Bortle 5 ≈ V 5.6, Bortle 7 ≈ V 4.6. The shape is counted recognisable when at least 70% of defining stars clear the limit.

Bortle 3: 5/5 stars — fully visibleBortle 5: 5/5 stars — fully visibleBortle 7: 5/5 stars — fully visible

Member stars

Name	Bayer / Flamsteed	HR	RA J2000	Dec J2000	V mag
Vega	3Alp Lyr	HR 7001	18^h 36^m 56.3^s	+38° 47′ 01″	0.03
14Gam Lyr	14Gam Lyr	HR 7178	18^h 58^m 56.6^s	+32° 41′ 22″	3.24
10Bet Lyr	10Bet Lyr	HR 7106	18^h 50^m 04.8^s	+33° 21′ 46″	3.45
12Del2Lyr	12Del2Lyr	HR 7139	18^h 54^m 30.2^s	+36° 53′ 56″	4.30
6Zet1Lyr	6Zet1Lyr	HR 7056	18^h 44^m 46.4^s	+37° 36′ 18″	4.36

Source and confidence

common observer pattern; high confidence. Commonly used constellation-part or seasonal guide-pattern name, with member-star positions plotted from BSC5.

Citations

Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.: Hoffleit, D. & Warren, W.H. Jr. (1991). Positions, V magnitudes, Bayer/Flamsteed identifiers. source
Star Tales: Ridpath, I. Constellation and asterism notes used to cross-check common sky-pattern names. source
The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues: ESA SP-1200 (1997). Used as the modern astrometric reference named by the atlas; the MVP pages expose BSC5 J2000 fields for the plotted bright-star members.