~ St. Maarten’s Backyard Astronomy for June 28-30 ~
Sun rises at 5:39 am
Sun sets at 6:51 pm
Lunar phase: 4th quarter, waning crescent
Moon rises at 12:08 am
Moon sets at 12:57 pm
This weekend, we look for the classic summer constellations. The Summer Triangle is the June-August counterpart to our beloved Winter Circle. Both are combinations of constellations – something known as an asterism – and both dominate the sky during their respective seasons. They take the brightest stars from several different sky characters to create something bigger and perhaps easier to recognize.
The Summer Triangle is made of three bright stars from three different constellations. The three constellations are Lyra the Harp, Cygnus the Swan, and Aquila the Eagle. The bright stars are Vega, Deneb and Altair. Each of these sky characters are among the 48 original constellations mapped by the early astronomer Ptolemy in the second century.
Where to find the Summer Triangle: As dusk deepens into darkest night, this weekend, look eastward to find this huge triangular star pattern. Scan the eastern sky for the most brilliant star in your view – that will likely be Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the Harp. Then look to the lower left of Vega for another bright star – that’s Deneb, the brightest in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Altair is a bit lower and far to the right, actually close to due East. Later in the night, from midnight to 1:00am, these stars will be overhead and as the dawn nears, they will be reaching for the horizon in the western sky.
Lyra may be a small constellation, but it has a big presence, largely because Vega is such a bright star. In fact it’s the second brightest star of the Northern Hemisphere, and the fifth brightest star in all the sky. Vega is so bright because it’s close, only 25 light-years away. Lyra represents a harp or “lyre”. The small constellation also hosts star clusters and deep sky objects as well as double stars. If you have a good telescope, you can search for these treasures.
Cygnus and Aquila are huge constellations – both representing birds with outstretched wings. Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus the Swan, while Altair marks the heart of the Eagle, Aquila. Between these three constellations are two smaller constellations within the Summer Triangle. These are Vulpecula and Sagitta. These are representing a fox and an arrow. Who fired the arrow and what was its target? Look to nearby constellations to explore the possibilities!
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles, backyard astronomy designed for St. Maarten sky viewing. FYI: If you are out later on in the week, note that each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
