- Lacerta is one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Its name is Latin for lizard. A small, faint constellation, it was defined in 1687 by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its brightest stars form a “W” shape similar to that of Cassiopeia, and it is thus sometimes referred to as ‘Little Cassiopeia’. It is located between Cygnus, Cassiopeia and Andromeda on the northern celestial sphere. The northern part lies on the Milky Way.
- Caph (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
CAPH (Beta Cassiopeiae). At mid second magnitude (2.27) and just barely the second brightest star in Cassiopeia, almost but not quite as bright as Shedar (the Alpha star), Caph, the Beta star, stole its name from the whole “W” of the constellation.
