It's time to find the dim pearl of the northern sky. Situated between the bright constellations of Cygnus, the swan, and the mythical mother-daughter pair Cassiopeia and Andromeda, Lacerta the Lizard is admittedly a faint constellation.
However, discerning its distinctive shape on a cold, dark night brings a great sense of accomplishment when experiencing the night sky.
Lacerta was named in the 17th century by the Polish-German astronomer Johann Hevelius. In creating his star map, he sought to fill the large gaps between the bright constellations known since antiquity.
The chart shows the view high up in the southern sky from London at 19:30 GMT on October 27, although the view will remain largely unchanged throughout the week. Although Lacerta has no truly bright stars, it has a distinctive zigzag shape, reminiscent of a lizard crawling across the sky.
Seeing the constellation will require a dark sky away from streetlights, but as an added bonus, such a sky will show Cygnus and the autumn Milky Way very well. Being a northern constellation, Lacerta does not rise high in the southern sky. Embracing the northern horizon, seeing this is a real challenge.
