Luminosity (bolometric) 27 L☉ Constellation Lacerta | Magnitude 3.777 Apparent magnitude (V) 3.777 | |
Similar NGC 7243, 10 Lacertae, EV Lacertae, Alpha Scuti, Alpha Apodis | ||
Alpha Lacertae (Alpha Lac, α Lacertae, α Lac) is an A-type main sequence star in the constellation of Lacerta. It is the brightest star in Lacerta and has an apparent visual magnitude of approximately 3.777.
The star has a visual companion, CCDM J22313+5017B, of spectral type A and apparent visual magnitude 11.8, approximately 36 arcseconds away. The companion is optical, a chance line-of-sight coincidence.
Naming
In Chinese, 螣蛇 (Téng Shé), meaning Flying Serpent, refers to an asterism consisting of α Lacertae, 4 Lacertae, π2 Cygni, π1 Cygni, HD 206267, ε Cephei, β Lacertae, σ Cassiopeiae, ρ Cassiopeiae, τ Cassiopeiae, AR Cassiopeiae, 9 Lacertae, 3 Andromedae, 7 Andromedae, 8 Andromedae, λ Andromedae, κ Andromedae, ι Andromedae, and ψ Andromedae. Consequently, α Lacertae itself is known as 螣蛇一 (Téng Shé yī, English: the First Star of Flying Serpent)