Astronomy

ECLIP

TIC^

Polaris

Denebola

M51

Mizar

M31

Vega

M57 M13

Deneb

Enif

Altair

Arcturus

M11

Spica

Antares

M6

M16

M17

M7

LIBRA

LUPUS

OPHIUCHUS

SAGITTARIUS

SCORPIUS

CAPRICORNUS SCUTUM

HERCULES

CYGNUS

BOÖTES COMABERENICES

SERPENS VIRGO

CAUDA

AQUILA SERPENSCAPUT

AQUARIUS

URSA

MINOR

CASSIOPEIA

LEO

URSAMAJOR

CEPHEUS

DRACO

PERSEUS

PEGASUS LACERTA

LY R A

`

ECLI

PTIC

Polaris

Vega

M13

Enif

Deneb

Altair

M33

M31

M35

869

884

Aldebaran

Mira

Fomalhaut

Algol

Capella

M15

URSA

MINOR

CASSIOPEIA

PERSEUS

URSA

MAJOR

LY R A

SAGITTA

DRACO

HERCULES

AQUILA

DELPHINUS

AQUARIUS

CAPRICORNUS

CYGNUS

PISCIS

AUSTRINUS

PISCES

PEGASUS

ORION

TAURUS

ERIDANUS

AURIGA

PHOENIX

CETUS

CEPHEUS

GRUS

ARIES

S

E

N

W

S

E

N

W

July 12
Pluto is at
opposition

July 27
Mars is at
opposition

Aug. 12
Perseid
meteor
shower peaks

Aug. 17
Venus is at
greatest
eastern
elongation

Aug. 26
Mercury is
at greatest
western
elongation

Sept. 7
Neptune is at
opposition

Oct. 21
Orionid
meteor
shower peaks

Oct. 23
Uranus is at
opposition

Nov. 17
Leonid
meteor
shower peaks

Dec. 14
Geminid
meteor
shower peaks

Dec. 15
Mercury is
at greatest
western
elongation

SUMMER

The sky

High in the sky, the three bright stars known

as the Summer Triangle are easy to spot.

These luminaries — Vega in Lyra, Deneb in

Cygnus, and Altair in Aquila — lie near the

starry path of the Milky Way. Following the

Milky Way south from Aquila, you’ll find the

center of our galaxy in the constellation

Sagittarius the Archer. Here lie countless star

clusters and glowing gas clouds. Just west of

Sagittarius lies Scorpius the Scorpion, which

contains the red supergiant star Antares as

well as M6 and M7, two brilliant clusters that

look marvelous at low power.

Deep-sky highlights

The Hercules Cluster (M13) contains nearly

a million stars and is the finest globular

cluster in the northern sky.

The Ring Nebula (M57) looks like a puff of

smoke through a medium-sized telescope.

The Omega Nebula (M17) looks like the

Greek letter of its name (Ω) through a

telescope at low power. This object also is

called the Swan Nebula.

The Wild Duck Cluster (M11) is a glorious

open star cluster. On a moonless night, a

small scope will show you some 50 stars.

AUTUMN

The sky

The Big Dipper swings low this season, and

from parts of the southern United States,

it even sets. With the coming of cooler

nights, Pegasus the Winged Horse rides

high in the sky as the rich summer Milky

Way descends in the west. Fomalhaut, a

solitary bright star, lies low in the south. The

magnificent Andromeda Galaxy reaches its

peak nearly overhead on autumn evenings,

as does the famous Double Cluster. Both

of these objects appear as fuzzy patches to

the naked eye under a dark sky.

Deep-sky highlights

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the bright est

naked-eye object outside our galaxy visible in

the northern sky.

The Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884)

in Perseus consists of twin open star clusters.

It’s a great sight through binoculars.

M15 in Pegasus is a globular cluster

con taining hundreds of thousands of stars,

many of which can be glimpsed through a

medium-sized telescope.

Albireo (Beta [β] Cygni), the most beautiful

double star in the sky, is made up of suns

colored sapphire and gold.

Open cluster

Globular cluster

Diffuse nebula

Planetary nebula

Galaxy