EarthSky

July 19th, 2009 - Tonight

sagar: Author=’Deborah Byrd’ program=” video=”I pointed out the Summer Triangle earlier this month. This famous pattern of stars is now at its best in the night sky. The Summer Triangle consists of three bright stars – Vega, Deneb and Altair – in three separate constellations. If you can find the Summer Triangle, you can use it to locate three of the sky’s smallest constellations: Vulpecula the Fox, Delphinus the Dolphin and Sagitta the Arrow.

All three would be impossible to see from the city. And personally – true confession ahead here – I’ve never managed to identify Vulpecula in my 30+ years of stargazing. It’s just so faint and so small!

On the other hand, the little constellations Delphinus and Sagitta are very distinctive. They’re easy to see in a dark country sky, because both actually look somewhat like the objects/creatures for which they’re named. Delphinus is supposed to be the Dolphin that carried a Greek poet – Arion – safely away from his enemies. Sagitta is sometimes considered to be an arrow shot from the bow of Hercules.

Our Summer Triangle series includes:

Part 1: Vega and its constellation Lyra

Part 2: Deneb and its constellation Cygnus

Part 3: Altair and its constellation Aquila