Featured Deep Sky Objects |
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The constellations Hercules and Lyra both offer a wide array of objects to explore with telescopes. Firstly, there are many colored stars and wide separation pairs worthy of binocular viewing; Hercules has three red giants among its brighter stars (Alpha, Beta, and Pi), Lyrae has the wide pair of Epsilon Lyrae, and the interesting color-contrast pair of Delta Lyrae. Each constellation has planetary nebulae on hand, but the overwhelmingly best of these is Lyra's famous Ring Nebula M57. Similarly, there are several star clusters in each constellation - but Hercules takes the lead here, with globulars M13 and M92 both being must-sees. Neither constellation is blessed with bright galaxies, although expert astronomers may hunt for the many fainter ones which are not listed on this chart.
Stars in Lyra | M56 | M57 | NGC 6791
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