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Sky Chart and Artist Rendering of Lynx
Origin:
Lynx is a "modern" constellation which was proposed by Polish
astronomer Johannes Hevelius in
1687 and drawn in his 1690 atlas, Prodromus Astronomiae to fill a
gap between Ursa Major (the Great Bear), Gemini (the Twins), Cancer
(the Crab), and Auriga (the Charioteer).
This nocturnal wildcat has exceptional eyesight and, at Hevelius'
admission, the constellation is so faint that the observer needs the eyes
of a Lynx to see it. Many amateur astronomers say that to find Lynx
you look in the region of the sky around Ursa Major, Gemini, and Auriga
"where there isn't anything."
Information:
Lynx is a meandering line of stars in an area of the sky only sparsely
populated by stars starting at Leo Minor and
ending at southeast of Camelopardalis.
The line of stars passes between Ursa Major
and Cancer then head northeast above Castor and
Pollux of Gemini and, finally, north of Auriga. The center of Lynx culminates at 9 pm
on March 10. Lynx may be better known for its multiple stars than
its deep sky objects although there are a few relatively good deep sky
objects worth finding. The difficulty of finding anything in Lynx is
the lack of bright guide stars. |
