Lynx
What is Lynx?
Constellations· Winter–spring evenings (N) · long faint line between Ursa Major and Auriga. A faint constellation Hevelius named because "you need the eyes of a lynx" to see it. It zigzags across the wide blank sky between Ursa Major and Auriga. The globular NGC 2419, the "Intergalactic Wanderer" 300,000 light-years out, lives here. Look west of the Big Dipper in the Sky view.
📍 Visible from where you are right now — computed in your browser
bearing · altitude · rise time · best time tonight
Where Lynx is in your sky right now: https://nowsky.org/solar/sky?sel=con:Lynx — location and time set automatically, no login.
Stars of the figure
| Star | Magnitude |
|---|---|
| Alpha Lyncis | 3.1 |
| Alsciaukat | 3.8 |
The 2 brightest of the 5 stars used in the figure (4 lines). Lower magnitude means brighter.
Deep-sky objects near this constellation
Constellation basics
| Season | winter–spring evenings (N) |
|---|---|
| Brightest star | Alpha Lyncis (3.1) |
| How to find | the empty sky between the Dipper and Capella–Castor |
| Area rank | 88 |
Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
Frequently asked
- When can I see Lynx?
- winter–spring evenings (N).
- How do I find Lynx?
- the empty sky between the Dipper and Capella–Castor.
- What is the brightest star in Lynx?
- Alpha Lyncis, magnitude 3.1.
- Where is Lynx in the sky right now?
- Open the sky view for your location and time and it shows the position in the sky right now.
Water twelve billion light-years away — a quasar in Lynx
In 2011 water was detected around the quasar APM 08279+5255, twelve billion light-years away in the direction of Lynx. The amount was 140 trillion times the water in Earth's oceans, evidence that water already existed in bulk when the universe was a tenth of its present age. It is spread as vapour through gas heated by the quasar's central black hole, gas extending over hundreds of light-years.
Molecules at such a distance could be measured because a galaxy in front acts as a gravitational lens and magnifies the quasar's light nearly a hundredfold. It was once recorded as the brightest object in the universe, but without the lensing it is an ordinary quasar. Beyond the faint constellation said to need a lynx's eyes lies an object that told us about the chemistry of the early universe.
The constellation in depth
Lynx was created by Hevelius in 1687 to fill the broad void between Ursa Major and Auriga. He wrote that the stars were so faint "only the lynx-eyed" could see them, drawing on the old belief that the lynx has extraordinary sight. It ranks 28th of 88 in area — fairly large — yet has almost no bright stars.
Alpha Lyncis is an orange giant of magnitude 3.1, and 38 Lyncis is a double for small telescopes. The most intriguing object is the globular cluster NGC 2419, some 300,000 light-years from the galactic centre — so far out it once seemed to be escaping the Milky Way, earning the nickname "Intergalactic Wanderer". The direction also holds the exoplanet HD 75898 b.
On January–April evenings, scan the empty sky between Castor–Capella and the Big Dipper. With stars of 3rd–4th magnitude you may catch only Alpha from town; under a dark sky the zigzag line appears. Turn on constellation lines in the Sky view to trace the whole strand.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.