Summer Triangle

The Summer Triangle consists of the brightest stars in three neighboring constellations: Vega, Deneb, and Altair.

Sky & Telesope diagram

The equinox falls on September 22nd at 4:44 pm Eastern Daylight Time. On this date the Sun momentarily shines directly down on Earth’s equator as it heads south in declination. Three days earlier before that is the Full "Harvest" Moon.

Venus has a busy month. On the 5th and 6th, it shines just a couple of degrees above Spica. Two nights later, on September 8th, it pairs spectacularly with a thin crescent Moon. They'll be just 1½° apart from North America — even closer south of the equator.

Meanwhile, the Summer Triangle is high above as the evening sky darkens. The beautiful summer milky Way runs through it, but you'll need a dark sky to see this smoky river of starlight.

To find out more about these and other sky sights, download this month's 7¾-minute-long audio audio sky tour.

Comments


You must be logged in to post a comment.