Zeta Lyrae: Often Overlooked Pair of Stars in Lyra

If you take a quick look at any list of top astronomical targets near or in the constellation Lyra, you might notice that Zeta Lyrae often gets overlooked. This is understandable because there are so many wonderful objects around it! You have brilliant Vega, the famous “Double-Double” of Epsilon Lryae, the awesome Ring Nebula, the quaint Eta Lyrae (Aladfar), and the colorful Delta Lyrae. And let’s not forget the Beta Lyrae duo that love to eclipse each other. Seriously, there’s a whole star party happening up there!

When observed with the naked eye, Zeta Lyrae appears as a solitary 4th-magnitude star, made up of magnitude +4.4. Zeta1 Lyrae and the dimmer Zeta2 Lyrae star. Backyard astronomers should find it relatively simple to distinguish the pair of stars with any telescope, as they are separated by 44 arcseconds.¹

But there is more to these stars than meets the eye, especially when it comes to Zeta1 Lyrae. The star is a spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of 4.3 days. Also, astronomers classify it as a special A-type star called Am or metallic-line star because of the odd surface makeup that “distorts its spectrum.”²

William Herschel first recorded the binary on August 29, 1779. ³ You can see the famous astronomer’s observational notes reprinted by John Nanson here.

My Observations

The Night Begins with Titanic’s Stars

As July begins with midnight near, I’m standing under a clear firmament. If only I could scare the rising full moon back to the east because the stars are dissolving into her rising light.

Earlier today, as I was mapping out my route through Lyra, I listened to the news about the tragic incident involving a submersible called Titan that imploded while en route to view the Titanic. All five passengers on board died. As I listened to the somber report, I thought again of the clear, moonless night when the Titanic sank more than 100 years ago. I viewed the star charts for 2 a.m. on April 15, 1912, and noticed how my 11 p.m. sky looked about the same. With the telescope set, I stepped back to view Vega, then my eyes moved to Ursa Major, then back to Polaris. I wondered how many of the survivors, if any, found solace in the stars to fight off the cold and violence of the night.

I set my path for Zeta Lyra, realizing I missed several great doubles in this region over the years. Zeta Lyra is a fine double. The primary star is a brilliant white, while the dimmer companion is white with a tinge of yellow or even a little orange. I’m again reminded how Lyra hosts a treasure of gems. I admire the pair as if they give off ageless wisdom and have watched down upon our world of pain, and yet their light continues to shine.

Key Stats

Constellation	Lyra
Best Viewing	Summer/Autumn
Visual Magnitude	+4.4 | +5.7
Absolute Visual Magnitude	+.94
Distance from Earth	155 ly
Separation	44″
Position Angle	150°
Milky Way Location	Orion Spur
My Viewing Grade	B
Designations	ζ1 Lyrae, 6 lyr, SAO 67321, HR 7056, HD 173648, H V 2, SHJ 279, STFA 38, STFA 173

Sources and Notes

Banner photo of Zeta Lyrae Double Star by David Chifiriuc. The illustration is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Full details here.

¹Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, May 14). Zeta1 Lyrae. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta1_Lyrae#:~:text=Zeta1%20Lyrae%2C%20Latinized%20from,apparent%20visual%20magnitude%20of%204.37.

² Kaler, J. (n.d.). Zeta Lyrae. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/zetalyr.html

³ Nanson, J. (2015, October 7). Beta (β) and Zeta (ζ) lyrae: A closer look – and a tar 3 tale. Star-Splitters. https://bestdoubles.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/beta-%CE%B2-and-zeta-%CE%B6-lyrae-a-closer-look-and-a-tar-3-tale/

Sketch by Wayne McGraw