Saturday, August 17, 2024

The Summer Triangle (all night)

After dusk in latter August, Vega, Deneb, and Altair are the first stars to appear overhead in the darkening sky. Those three bright, white stars form the Summer Triangle asterism - an annual feature of the summer sky that remains visible until the end of December! The brightest and most easterly of the trio is Vega, in Lyra. At magnitude 0.03, Vega is the brightest star in the summer sky, mainly due to its relative proximity - it's only 25 light-years away from the sun. Magnitude 0.75 Altair, in Aquila, occupies the southern corner of the triangle. Altair is 17 light-years from the sun. By contrast, Deneb, which shines somewhat less brightly at magnitude 1.25 to the east of Vega, is a staggering 2,600 light-years away from us; but it shines so brightly because
of its greater intrinsic luminosity. The Milky Way passes between Vega and Altair and through Deneb. The triangle will set in the west as dawn begins to break.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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