Introduced by Hevelius in 1687. Its name is an astronomical joke. Hevelius continued to catalog stars by eye long after others resorted to telescopes, and was therefore said to have the eyes of a lynx. In response, he created this constellation to fill an area practically devoid of naked-eye stars, saying that one must have the eyes of a lynx to see it. Many websites present mythological discussions of lynxes, but since there was no Lynx in ancient skies, those discussions have nothing to do with the present constellation.

     Stars which have common names often have multiple names, so the common names shown (if any) cannot be considered authoritative. Right ascension and declination are given in 2000.0 coordinates.

α Lyn