COSMOS / CONSTELLATIONS / LYN
Lynx
IAU abbreviation Lyn. One of the seven constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius and published in his star atlas of 1690.
STAR CHART
KEY FACTS
- IAU abbreviation
- Lyn
- Latin name / genitive
- Lynx / Lyncis
- Position
- Right ascension ≈ 7 h 56 m; declination +33° to +62°
- Visibility from Türkiye
- Visible in full from anywhere in Türkiye. When it crosses the meridian its centre stands about 83° above the horizon from Ankara.
- Best time to observe
- Best placed at 21:00 Türkiye time around 18 March.
- Number of stars
- 102 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 in the catalogue; 14 brighter than 5 and 3 brighter than 4.
INTERACTIVE LAB
Where is Lynx tonight?
The lab opens for Ankara on today’s date. Drag the time slider through the night; the “Best night” button jumps to the date when the constellation is highest at 21:00 (around 18 March). Change the city to compare the view from elsewhere in Türkiye and around the world.
MYTH, HISTORY AND OBSERVING
A long, faint constellation introduced by Hevelius in 1687; he is said to have chosen the name because one needs the eyes of a lynx to see it. The remote globular cluster NGC 2419, the “Intergalactic Wanderer”, is here.
BRIGHTEST STARS
| Star | Magnitude | Distance (light-years) | Spectral type |
|---|---|---|---|
| α Lyn | 3.14 | 203 | M0IIIvar |
| 38 Lyn | 3.82 | 125 | A1V |
| HIP 44248 | 3.96 | 52 | F5V |
| Alsciaukat | 4.25 | 382 | K5III |
| 15 Lyn | 4.35 | 178 | G5III-IV |
| 2 Lyn | 4.44 | 157 | A2Vs |
| HIP 44700 | 4.56 | 817 | G8Ib-II |
| 21 Lyn | 4.61 | 274 | A1V |
Magnitude: apparent brightness; the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Distances derive from parallax measurements and are uncertain for distant stars. Source: HYG v4.1 star catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0).
SOURCES
Position, visibility and best observing time were computed approximately for this page from the catalogue stars (Ankara, 39.9° N). The 88 constellations were adopted by the IAU in 1922; their boundaries were drawn by Eugène Delporte in 1930.