- Ukraine (/juːˈkreɪn/ yoo-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, romanized: Ukraina, pronounced [ʊkrɐˈjinɐ]) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. It also borders Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation’s capital and largest city, followed by Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa. Ukraine’s official language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.
- Star Tales - Lacerta (ianridpath.com)
This inconspicuous constellation, sandwiched between Cygnus and Andromeda like a lizard between rocks, was introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his star catalogue of 1687 and depicted in his star atlas published posthumously in 1690. Hevelius gave it the alternative title of Stellio, a type of lizard also known as a starred agama, but this secondary name soon fell into disuse.
