Name a Star in the Lynx Constellation

The Lynx constellation fills a large gap in the sky between Auriga and Ursa Major. The constellation was named Lynx by Johannes Hevelius due to the exceptional eyesight needed to identify the objects there. Although it is hard to see, the constellation is certainly worth the effort. The constellation is viewable from the entire northern hemisphere and south to the beaches of Australia.

This constellation has its own mini constellation of celebrities that have stars named after them, including: Jennifer Lawrence, Candice Bergen, Peter Gabriel, Stephen Colbert, and Rachael Ray. Click here for more information.

Lynx is a favorite choice of cat owners when naming a star for their feline friends. Two of the most creatively named deep sky objects are located in Lynx. One unique object in the night sky is the “Intergalactic Wanderer”. NGC 2419 is a globular star cluster that was mistakenly thought to move in an orbit around our Milky Way galaxy. The Astronaut Memorial Planetarium gave the unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 2683 the unofficial nickname the “UFO Galaxy”. NGC 2683 appears disk-like because it is tilted edgewise when viewed from Earth.  The seven constellations sharing a border with Lynx are Auriga, Camelopardalis, Cancer, Gemini, Leo, Leo Minor and Ursa Major.   

Symbol: Lyn 

Right Ascension: 08:26 

Declination: 46 

Diameter (°): 28 

Area (square °): 545 

Opposition: Jan 24 

Size Rank: 28th 

Brightness Rank: 53rd 

Genitive: Lyncis 

Major or notable stars in Lynx  

α Lyncis (Alpha Lyncis) 

Alsciaukat – 31 Lyncis 

38 Lyncis 

12 Lyncis 

19 Lyncis 

6 Lyncis 

HD 75898  

Deep Sky Objects in Lynx  

NGC 2419 (Caldwell 25) – Intergalactic Wanderer 

UFO Galaxy – NGC 2683 

NGC 2500 

Bear’s Paw Galaxy – NGC 2537 (Arp 6) 

NGC 2770 

NGC 2541  

Mythology of the Constellation Lynx  

Because it is a newer constellation, there are no myths associated with the constellation Lynx. The wild cat it is named for, the Lynx, has several myths associated with it. Currently there are 4 species of Lynx in the world. They are the American Bobcat, the Canadian Lynx, the Iberian Lynx, and the Eurasian Lynx.  During the Pliocene to early Pleistocene epochs the first Lynx species is also said to have inhabited Europe and Africa. This elusive wild cat is renowned as mysterious and in some ancient stories even clairvoyant. In some myths, the “Lynx stone”, amber, was thought to be the hardened urine of the Lynx. In another myth, King Lyncus was turned to a lynx for refusing to teach the art of agriculture to his people.