lyra

Lyra is a small northern constellation of the Milky Way, one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. It is bordered by Cygnus to the north and Hercules to the south, and its shape is commonly depicted as a lyre. The brightest star in Lyra is Vega (Alpha Lyrae), one of the cornerstones of the Summer Triangle asterism along with Deneb and Altair. Lyra contains several notable deep-sky objects, including the Ring Nebula (M57), a classic planetary nebula about 2,000 light-years away, and the bright multiple-star system Epsilon Lyrae, known as a double-double. The constellation is best seen in northern latitudes during summer evenings.

Lyra’s name derives from the Latin lyra, meaning lyre, a stringed instrument in ancient Greece and Rome. In myth, the lyre was associated with Orpheus, Hermes, and the arts, and the name has been adopted for various cultural works.

Beyond astronomy, Lyra is used as a personal given name for girls and has appeared in fiction, most famously as Lyra Belacqua, the protagonist of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. The name is sometimes used for fictional characters and places in other works, reflecting its musical associations and mythic origins.