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Lyra

Lyra

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Copyright

Lyra (abbr. Lyr, gen. Lyrae) A prominent constellation of the northern sky, representing a lyre. Its brightest star is Vega. Beta Lyrae (Sheliak) is an eclipsing binary, the prototype of the Beta Lyrae stars; it varies between magnitudes 3.3 and 4.4 in a period of 12.9 days. It is also a double star, with a fainter component of magnitude 7.2. Delta Lyrae is a wide double, magnitudes 4.2 and 5.6, while Epsilon Lyrae is a famous quadruple star, the Double Double. Zeta Lyrae is another double star, magnitudes 4.4 and 5.7. RR Lyrae is the prototype of the RR Lyrae stars, an important class of pulsating variables. M57 is a well-known planetary nebula, the Ring Nebula. The Lyrid meteors radiate from the constellation every April.
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Lyra

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Lyra [Lat.,=the lyre], northern constellation lying S of Draco, E of Hercules, and W of Cygnus. Although many civilizations represented it as a bird, it was also depicted as a tortoise. The white star Vega (Alpha Lyrae), the brightest star in the constellation, is one of the brightest in the entire sky. Just NE of Vega is Epsilon Lyrae, one of the few double stars that can be resolved with the naked eye. Also in Lyra is the Ring Nebula, the most famous of the planetary nebulae, consisting of a shell of gas separated from and expanding from a central star. Lyra reaches its highest point in the evening sky in August.

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Lyra

A Dictionary of First Names | 2006 | | Copyright

Lyra ♀ Modern coinage, apparently from Latin lyra ‘lyre’ choice as a given name evokes images of gentle music and harmony.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Lyra." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Lyra." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Lyra.html

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Lyra." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Lyra.html

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lyra

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

lyra (Lira).
1. The lyre.

2. Early Ger. name for hurdy-gurdy; see lira.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "lyra." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "lyra." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-lyra.html

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "lyra." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-lyra.html

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Lyra

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

Lyra •airer, bearer, carer, Clara, darer, declarer, Demerara, Éire, habanera, Halmahera, parer, Perak, primavera, repairer, Rivera, Riviera, Sarah, scarer, sharer, snarer, sparer, squarer, starer, swearer, tearer, wearer •cause célèbre • torch-bearer •swordbearer • pallbearer • wayfarer •seafarer • capoeira • Phaedra •sacra, simulacra •Libra, vers libre •ex cathedra •chypre, Ypres •palaestra (US palestra) • urethra •joie de vivre •mirror, sirrah •Coimbra • Middlesbrough • Indra •Sintra •aspidistra, sistra •algebra • orchestra • vertebra •Beira, Fujairah, Hegira, Lyra, Myra, naira, palmyra, spirogyra •Hydra • Lycra •begorra, Gomorrah, horror •double entendre • genre • amour propre • Le Nôtre • contra •Cosa Nostra, rostra

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