Lynx

Also known as Lyn, Lyncis

constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

AI overview

Lynx is a faint constellation located in the northern sky that is difficult to see without binoculars or a telescope because its stars are dim. It matters to astronomers and stargazers as part of the map of constellations used to locate objects and navigate the night sky.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Official name: Lynx
Area: 545
Image: Constellation Lynx.jpg

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time of discovery or invention: 1687-00-00
short name: Lyn
Commons category: Lynx (constellation)
Commons gallery: Lynx (constellation)

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Article

Lynx is a constellation named after the animal, usually observed in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. The constellation was introduced in the late 17th century by Johannes Hevelius. It is a faint constellation, with its brightest stars forming a zigzag line. The orange giant Alpha Lyncis is the brightest star in the constellation, and the semiregular variable star Y Lyncis is a target for amateur astronomers. Six star systems have been found to contain planets. Those of 6 Lyncis and HD 75898 were discovered by the Doppler method; those of XO-2, XO-4, XO-5 and WASP-13 were observed as they passed in front of the host star.

Within the constellation's borders lie NGC 2419, an unusually remote globular cluster; the galaxy NGC 2770, which has hosted three recent Type Ib supernovae; the distant quasar APM 08279+5255, whose light is magnified and split into multiple images by the gravitational lensing effect of a foreground galaxy; and the Lynx Supercluster, which was the most distant supercluster known at the time of its discovery in 1999.