Lyra << LY ruh >> also called the Harp, is a small constellation that can be seen from the Northern Hemisphere. Its brightest star, Vega, is about 26 light-years from the earth. One light-year equals 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers). Vega is the fifth brightest star visible, excluding the sun.
Lyra has two notable features that can be seen through a small telescope. One of them is Epsilon Lyrae, a binary star (pair of stars). When viewed through a telescope, each of these bright stars in turn is double. A telescope also can spot the Ring Nebula, a ring-shaped cloud of dust and gas surrounding a very faint star. The nebula formed when the star blew off an outer layer of its atmosphere.
