Lyra

Observing Projects for Lyra
The Ships of Sheliak

The Ships of Sheliak

: By Jim Hendrickson
Hidden in the rich starfields near the Ring Nebula is an asterism that resembles a pair of ships from Star Wars.

M56: Globular Cluster in Lyra

: By Glenn Chaple
In July, we looked at M92, a fine globular cluster in Hercules that’s overlooked in favor of the easier-to-find M13. The same misfortune has befallen another globular cluster - M56 in Lyra. M56 is often bypassed by backyard astronomers who favor the planetary nebula M57, conveniently positioned midway between the stars beta (β) and gamma (γ) Lyrae.

Some Bright Summer Double Stars

: By Glenn Chaple
In this modern era of the huge galaxy-gulping Dobsonian reflector, double stars have become the neglected children of the cosmos. That’s too bad, because few heavenly objects have the visual appeal of double stars.