Lynx (constellation)

Lynx

Constellation
List of stars in Lynx
Abbreviation	Lyn
Genitive	Lyncis
Pronunciation	/ˈlɪŋks/, genitive /ˈlɪnsɪs/
Symbolism	the Lynx
Right ascension	8h
Declination	+45°
Quadrant	NQ2
Area	545 sq. deg. (28th)
Main stars	4
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	42
Stars with planets	6
Stars brighter than 3.00m	0
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)	1
Brightest star	α Lyn (3.14m)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	Alpha Lyncids September Lyncids
Bordering constellations	Ursa Major Camelopardalis Auriga Gemini Cancer Leo (corner) Leo Minor
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −55°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of March.

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.