Constellation of Lynx: description, history, interesting objects

Many interesting objects can be observed in the night sky of the Northern Hemisphere. One of them is the constellation of Lynx. But to see it you need to try hard. Where is it located? When it is noticeable? Which stars are included in it? Let's find out.

History and description of the constellation Lynx

The constellation covers an area of 545.4 square degrees and contains 92 stars. Nevertheless, it is rather dim, there are no bright stars in it, so it is not so easy to see it. Like a real lynx, it lurks in the sky, waiting for a good time to appear.

Its Latin name is Lynx. It is considered young, since it was discovered only in 1660. Some of its stars were discovered by the Greek astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy, but never united in the constellation.

In the XVII century a new "heavenly drawing" was opened by the Polish astronomer Jan Hevelius, who called it. In the photo of the constellation Lynx it is clear that its outlines do not at all resemble this animal. It stretched out in a long broken line and not very expressive. In justification for the name Jan Hevelius said that the constellation is so imperceptible that you can see it only with the eyes of a lynx.

Stars of the constellation Lynx

The brightest star in the constellation α Lyn with a magnitude of 3.14 m. The lynx has no brighter luminaries. About sixty of its stars have a value of 6 m, and the others shine even weaker. In its limits there are no meteor showers, but there are other interesting objects. There are many star systems in the constellation.

System 38 Lynx - double. It is located at a distance of 120 light years from Earth. It consists of white stars of class A1 with a brilliance of 3.9 m and 6.6 m. Celestial bodies are separated from one another by 2.7 ". The star system is located near α Lyn and is the second in brightness.

Star 15 Lynx consists of two yellow giants whose apparent magnitudes are 5.9 and 4.8. It even appears as a meeting place in the "Star Trek" universe of the heroes of the fantastic novel The Lost Era: The Sundered.

Stars with planets

Some stars of the constellation Lynx are associated with planets, for example, the stars with the poetic name HD 75898. It is a yellow dwarf distant from us for 263 light years. In 2007, near the star was discovered a planet - a gas giant, which is two and a half times that of Jupiter.

Around the stars XO-5, XO-2, XO-4, planets were also discovered. Object XO-5 is located at a distance of more than 800 light years from us. While near the star was found only one planet.

The age of XO-5 is more than eight billion years. It's a yellow dwarf, similar to our Sun just a little colder than him. The temperature of its surface is more than five thousand degrees on the Kelvin scale, and its approximate magnitude is 12.13.

The star received its name from the telescope XO in the Hawaiian park Haleakala, with which it was studied. In the same telescope in 2008 for the first time observed its planet - XO-5 b (pictured below). The planet belongs to the class of hot Jupiters. It is located very close to the star and makes a complete revolution around it in just four days.

Clusters and galaxies

Right on New Year's Eve 1788, William Herschel discovered in the constellation Lynx a globular cluster. It is designated as NGC 2419, GCL 12 or C25, and is sometimes referred to as the Galactic Rogue. From our system, the cluster is removed by 300,000 light-years and about the same from the galactic center. From the Earth it can be observed in a telescope, the aperture of which starts from 150 mm.

Another interesting object in the constellation is the spiral galaxy. From the Earth it is removed to a distance of 16 million light years. Like the globular cluster in the constellation Lynx, the galaxy can be seen using special equipment.

The galaxy has much in common with the Milky Way. On the horizon it should be sought near the constellation of Cancer. With the help of an ordinary telescope with an aperture of up to 250 mm, many details remain unnoticed, but the bright core should be clearly visible. It consists of brightly illuminated old yellow stars.

Observation

Despite the absence of stars brighter than the third magnitude, the Lynx constellation can still be seen with the naked eye. It is surrounded by the Big Dipper, Little Lion, Gemini, Auriga, Cancer, Giraffe and Lion. Its upper edge begins at the constellation of the giraffe and stretches down to the Little Lion and the Cancer.

The constellation of Lynx can be found from latitudes from + 90 ° to -28 °. It is best seen in the winter - from January to mid-February. In the middle belt and in the north of Russia, the Lynx is visible all year round. In summer, in the southern latitudes, it goes slightly beyond the horizon.