Vultur cadens

Vultur cadens is an obsolete Latin name associated with the modern constellation Lyra, whose brightest star is Vega. The name translates to "falling vulture" and reflects ancient Near Eastern and Greek traditions of identifying bird-shaped star patterns. The International Astronomical Union standardized the name Lyra, and Vultur cadens is no longer in official use.

Vultur cadens ("falling vulture") was historically linked to Lyra, while Vultur volans ("flying vulture") was associated with the neighboring constellation Aquila and its bright star Altair. Both names originated from ancient attempts to map animal forms onto star groupings in the summer sky. Both designations are now obsolete.

Lyra contains the Ring Nebula (M57), one of the most famous planetary nebulae, which is visible through small amateur telescopes. The constellation also features Vega, the fifth-brightest star in the night sky and one of the three vertices of the Summer Triangle asterism. These objects make Lyra a popular target for backyard astronomers.

The name has roots in ancient Mesopotamian star lore, where the region of Lyra was associated with a vulture carrying a lyre. Greek astronomers adopted and translated these traditions into Latin during the medieval period. The vulture imagery persisted in European star atlases for centuries before being replaced by the lyre imagery that defines the modern constellation.