Summer constellations are best seen in the evening sky from late June to September in the Northern Hemisphere and from December to late March in the Southern Hemisphere.
For observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the constellations that will dominate the summer sky include three constellations with three very bright stars, forming the Summer Triangle – the Eagle, Swan and Bird, as well as the constellations of zodiac Archer, Scorpio and Ophiuchus.
Thien Ung, Thien Cam and Swan
Thien Ung (Aquila) and Swan (Cygnus), the eagle and the swan in the sky, rise high on summer evenings and seem to look at each other. Thien Ung contains the star Altaïr, one of the closest stars to Earth visible to the naked eye, just 17 light years away. Altair, with the stars Deneb of Cygnus and Vega of Cygnet, formed Summer trianglea set of very bright stars.
Summer triangle in the sky of Japan. Photo: Shingo Takei
Swan is one of the most important constellations in summer. The brightest stars in the constellation form a stellar network called Northern Cross, very easy to spot on summer evenings. Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation and one of the brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere, marks the Swan’s tail. It is the first-class star located farthest from Earth, approximately 3,550 light years away.
Cygnus constellation. Photo: Stellarium
Thien Nga also has many other top stars. Albireo, or Beta Cygni, is a binary star system popular with amateur astronomers because of its contrasting colors. This star marks the head of Swan and is sometimes called a “beaked star”. Next, the star Sadr, or Gamma Cygni, is in the center of the Northern Cross and marks the breast of the Swan. This star is surrounded by a diffuse nebula with the number IC 1318, commonly known as the Sadr region (Gamma Cygni region).
Albireo double star. Photo: Syfy
Exciting deep objects located in the Cygnus constellation include the Swan the Crescent Nebula and the Veil Nebula.
Thien Cam, is a small constellation located between the constellations Cygnus, Hercules and Draco. This constellation is easy to identify thanks to its parallelogram shape.
Lyre. Photo: Stellarium
This constellation is home to Vega, the fifth brightest star in the night sky, as well as two other famous stars. Sheliak, or Beta Lyrae, is the first of the Beta Lyrae class of variable stars, a class of binary stars so close together that matter flows from one star to another and the stars become unique egg-shaped objects. Epsilon Lyrae, nicknamed Double Star, is made up of two binary star systems orbiting each other. Located near the star Vega, this system is a popular target for amateur astronomers.
The Ring Nebula, photographed through an amateur telescope. Photo: Cloudy
The most famous deep objects in the constellation are the globular cluster Messier 56, the famous ring nebula (Messier 57), the merging galaxy trio NGC 6745 and the open star cluster NGC 6791.
Seen Tien
Constellation Vu Tien. Photo: Thoughtco
Seen Tien (Hercules) is the 5th largest constellation in the sky but does not have bright stars of magnitude I or II. This constellation is quite easy to identify because some of its stars form the Keystone, a bright collection of summer stars, representing the body of the mighty Hercules. The constellation depicts the image of Hercules standing on the head of Ladon, the mythical dragon whom he defeated during a series of 12 victories. This dragon is the constellation Thien Long (Draco) located right next to it.
Vu Tien has two Messier objects: the first is the Hercules globular cluster (Messier 13) and the smaller, denser and slightly dimmer Messier 92 – one of the oldest known star clusters in the Path milky. The constellation also contains the Hercules galaxy cluster, with about 200 members, including the interacting galaxy pair Arp 272 (NGC 6050 and IC 1179), as well as the active Hercules A galaxy.
Globular cluster Messier 13. Photo: PBase.com
Archer and Scorpio
Two constellations of the zodiac Scorpio And Archers can be seen above the southern horizon in summer.
The Teapot star array in the Archer constellation. Photo: ESA/Hubble
Archers (Sagittarius) is one of the most important constellations in the summer sky. It is easily identified by the Teapot star array, formed from the brightest stars in the constellation. Located in the Milky Way, this constellation is a landing point for many iconic deep celestial bodies. The first is the Sagittarius A radio source, which would mark the central region of the Milky Way. Next come the Sagittarius dwarf elliptical galaxy, the Barnard galaxy, the Quintuplet cluster, the Pistol Nebula with its bright star, the Arches star cluster and a total of 15 Messier objects, including the Nebula of the Lagoon (M8), the Cleavage Nebula (M20) and the Omega Nebula. (M17), Sagittarius Cloud (M24) and Sagittarius Cluster (M22).
Messier 20. Photo: Lorand Fenyes
Neighboring constellation Scorpio (Scorpius – The Scorpion) is home to many interesting stars and deep objects. The constellation’s two brightest stars, Antares and Shaula, are among the brightest in the sky. Antares marks the heart of the scorpion, while Shaula is one of two stars at the tip of the tail.
Scorpio constellation. Photo: ESA/Hubble
There are four Messier objects in this constellation, including the globular clusters Messier 4 and Messier 80, the open cluster Messier 6 (butterfly cluster), and Messier 7 (Ptolemaic cluster). The constellation also contains the Butterfly Nebula (or Bug Nebula, NGC 6302), the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), the Northern Treasure Box Cluster (NGC 6231), and the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6231). War and Peace (NGC 6357).
Star cluster Messier 6. Photo: Astrofotografia.eu
Ophiuchus
Ophiuchus (Ophiuchus – Snakeman) is the 11th largest constellation in the sky. Depicting the image of the medicine god Asclepius holding a serpent (constellation Serpens), Ophiuchus is also home to many interesting stars and deep celestial bodies.
Constellation Ophiuchus. Photo: Stellarium
Rasalhague, the brightest star in the constellation, marks the head of the god. Barnard’s Star is the fourth closest star to the Sun, behind only three stars in the Alpha Centauri system. This star is only 5.96 light years away, but it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. The Kepler supernova (SN 1604) is a remnant of the famous supernova observed in 1604; At its peak, it appears as the brightest star in the sky.
The Twin Stream Nebula. Photo: Hubble
Ophiuchus contains the Double Stream Nebula (also known as the Minkowski Butterfly) and the large dark Barnard 68 Nebula, as well as the Black Horse Nebula, which contains the Pipe Nebula and the Serpent Nebula. This constellation also has many bright globular clusters cataloged by Charles Messier: Messier 9, Messier 10, Messier 12, Messier 14, Messier 19, Messier 62 and Messier 107.
Abridged translation of the Constellation guide
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