#hat-p-40

Lacerta, which is Latin for "lizard", is a recent addition to the night sky. It was added in 1687 by the Polish astronomy Johannes Hevelius. There aren't a lot of bright stars in this part of the sky, so it wasn't recognized as a constellation by ancient astronomers. Hevelius originally intended to name it "Stellio" after the stellion, a lizard with star-like spots found around the Mediterranean.

There are only three named stars in this constellation. In order of brightness, they are:

Stellio (α Lacertae), the brightest star in Lacerta. It is a solitary blue-white star about 103 light years from Earth. Its name honors Hevelius' original name for Lacerta.

Tengshe (V424 Lacertae) is a red supergiant star about 2,300 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Chinese word Tengshe (螣蛇) meaning "flying serpent." This was a Chinese constellation that shared the same part of the sky as Lacerta.