The fall constellation of Lacerta the Lizard has dim stars may fade into the background of the Milky Way but its location provides a handful of glittering clusters.
The constellation of Lacerta the Lizard is a mostly dark patch of sky only observable to observers in the Northern Hemisphere. While some parts of the Lizard remain above the horizon all year long, The entire constellation is best viewed in the autumn when it rises highest above the horizon. Lacerta is not an ancient constellation but was created in the late 1600s by astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Lacerta is the word for lizard in Latin.
Finding the Constellation of Lacerta
Lacerta is located beside Cygnus the Swan and Cassiopeia. Some people refer to Lacerta as the "little W," due to its W-like shape. The "big W" is Cassiopeia. Can you see the Big and Little Ws next to each other in the sky? Others see Lacerta as more of a skinny kite.
The Stars of the Lizard
Only one star within the constellation's borders is brighter than 4th magnitude. This star is the magnitude 3.76 Alpha Lacertae. There are no named stars in Lacerta, only Greek letter designations. Alpha Lacertae lies 102 light-years away. Find it by using the top two stars in the top of the right "V" in Cassiopeia and extend that line toward Cygnus. Alpha Lacertae lies 16 and a half degrees from the W in Cassiopeia.
4th magnitude stars lie on all sides of Alpha Lacertae. The star in the direction of Polaris from Alpha Lacertae is Beta Lacertae. It is the only other Greek designated star. The rest are numbered. Beta Lacertae is magnitude 4.42 and lies 170 light-years away.
Star Clusters in Lacerta
The majority of the constellation Lacerta lies atop the Milky Way. However, there are no Messier objects within it. The brightest star cluster in Lacerta is NGC 7243, which lies two-and-a-half degrees from Alpha Lacertae in the direction of Cygnus. NGC 7243 is magnitude 6.4, meaning that it can be spotted in a pair of binoculars. It lies about 2,800 light-years away and displays some large foreground stars juxtaposed over the Milky Way.
The next brightest cluster can be found on the border of Cygnus and Lacerta. This cluster is magnitude 6.7 NGC 7209. This loose (spread out) cluster lies a similar distance from Earth as NGC 7243.
Draw a line from Alpha through Beta Lacertae and extend it for an equal distance as Alpha and Beta are apart. You will arrive at two stars clusters, NGC 7245 and IC 1442. IC 1442 is 9th magnitude and NGC 7245 is magnitude 9.19, therefore they are best viewed through a telescope. This pair lies only 20 arcminutes apart.
