Lyra (original) (raw)

Lyra (abbreviation: Lyr), the Lyre of Orpheus, is a small but bright northern constellation located between Cygnus to the east, Hercules to the south and west, and Draco to the north. Aside from its several star attractions, Lyra also boasts the most famous of planetary nebulae, the Ring Nebula, and M56 (NGC 6779), a globular cluster visible with binoculars (magnitude 8.2; diameter 7.1 arcminutes; distance 45,000 light-years; RA 19h 16.6m, Dec +30° 11'). See below for details of the constellation's brightest stars and interesting deep sky objects.