Constellation, Lizard
Lacerta
A small lizard squeezed between Cygnus and Andromeda, added by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. It has no myth, only a quiet zigzag of faint stars.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Lacerta rises at 11:35 AM, is highest at 9:58 PM (85° above the horizon in the N) and sets at 8:18 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Lacerta. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Lacerta is Latin for lizard. The Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius created it from faint stars that sit between Cygnus and Andromeda, like a lizard tucked between rocks. He listed it in his star catalogue of 1687, and it appeared in his star atlas, printed after his death in 1690. Hevelius also gave it a second name, Stellio, a kind of lizard known as the starred agama. That alternative name soon dropped out of use. There are no legends tied to this figure.
The English astronomer John Flamsteed later stretched the lizard northwards, taking in a triangle of stars that Hevelius had used for the turban of Cepheus. Later maps drew these stars as the lizard’s head. The Greek letters of its two brightest stars were added by Francis Baily in 1845. In 2024 the IAU named Alpha Lacertae Stellio, in memory of Hevelius’s other name for the figure. Chinese astronomers saw a flying serpent, Tengshe, in this part of the sky.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Lacerta, IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN): Modern IAU star names
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stellio | α Lac | 3.76 | 103 light-years |
| 1 Lac | 1 Lac | 4.14 | 621 light-years |
| 5 Lac | 5 Lac | 4.34 | 1,647 light-years |
| β Lac | β Lac | 4.42 | 170 light-years |
| HIP 109754 | HIP 109754 | 4.50 | 483 light-years |
| 11 Lac | 11 Lac | 4.50 | 333 light-years |
| 6 Lac | 6 Lac | 4.52 | 1,717 light-years |
| 2 Lac | 2 Lac | 4.55 | 555 light-years |
| 4 Lac | 4 Lac | 4.55 | 2,249 light-years |
| 9 Lac | 9 Lac | 4.64 | 172 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 201 square degrees (68 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Lac |
| Sky | Northern sky |
| Origin | Introduced in Hevelius’s star catalogue of 1687 and drawn in his atlas published in 1690 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 13 |
| Centre (J2000) | 22.5 h, 46° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC7243 | Open cluster | 6.4 |
| NGC7209 | Open cluster | 7.7 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.