Nu-1

Its story

Nu-1 Lyrae is a blue supergiant in the small Lyra, the constellation dominated by the brilliant Vega. Despite its modest apparent magnitude, it actually shines tens of thousands of times more brightly than the Sun: the only reason we barely perceive it is the immense distance that separates us — some 1,310 light years. Its light set out around the eighth century, when Charlemagne ruled in Europe and the world was far from imagining the true face of the firmament.