Constellation, Lyre
Lyra
A small but bright figure marked by Vega. In Greek myth it is the lyre of Orpheus, the first lyre ever made, crafted by Hermes from a tortoise shell.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Lyra rises at 9:27 AM, is highest at 6:19 PM (87° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 3:07 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Lyra. 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
In Greek myth the young god Hermes made the first lyre from the shell of a tortoise he found outside his cave. After Hermes stole some of Apollo’s cattle, the music won Apollo over, and he took the lyre in exchange. Apollo later gave it to Orpheus, the greatest musician of his age. Orpheus went down into the Underworld to bring back his dead wife Eurydice. He was allowed to lead her out if he never looked back, but just before daylight he turned, and she was lost for ever. When Orpheus died, the Muses placed his lyre among the stars.
The name Vega comes from Arabic words for the swooping eagle or vulture. Arab astronomers saw Vega and two nearby stars as a bird diving with folded wings. European maps often merged both ideas, drawing an eagle behind the lyre. Sheliak comes from an Arabic word for harp, and Sulafat means ‘the tortoise’, after the shell that made the lyre.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Lyra
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vega | α Lyr | 0.03 | 25 light-years |
| Sulafat | γ Lyr | 3.25 | 620 light-years |
| Sheliak | β Lyr | 3.52 | 962 light-years |
| 13 Lyr | 13 Lyr | 4.08 | 298 light-years |
| δ2 Lyr | δ2 Lyr | 4.22 | 736 light-years |
| κ Lyr | κ Lyr | 4.33 | 252 light-years |
| ζ1 Lyr | ζ1 Lyr | 4.34 | 156 light-years |
| θ Lyr | θ Lyr | 4.35 | 832 light-years |
| Aladfar | η Lyr | 4.43 | 1,388 light-years |
| ε2 Lyr | ε2 Lyr | 4.59 | 156 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 286 square degrees (52 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Lyr |
| Sky | Northern sky |
| Origin | One of the 48 constellations listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 14 |
| Centre (J2000) | 18.9 h, 37° |
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.
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.