Summer constellations are best seen in the evening sky from late June through September in the Northern Hemisphere, and December through 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 – Eagle, Swan and Lyra, as well as three constellations with the Archer zodiac constellations. , Scorpio and Scorpio .
Thien Ung, Thien Cam and Swan
Thien Ung (Aquila) and Swan (Cygnus), the eagle and swan in the sky, soar high on summer evenings and seem to gaze at each other. Uranus contains the star Altair, one of the closest stars to Earth visible to the naked eye, just 17 light-years away. Altair, together with the stars Deneb of Cygnus and Vega of Lyra, 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 set of stars known as Northern Cross, very recognizable on summer evenings. Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation and also one of the brightest in the northern hemisphere, marks the tail of the swan. It is a class I star located farthest from Earth, about 3550 light years from us.
Constellation Cygnus. Photo: Stellarium
Swan also has many other top stars. Albireo, or Beta Cygni, is a binary star system popular with amateur astronomers due to its contrasting colors. This star marks the head of the swan and is sometimes referred to as the “bird’s beak star”. Next, the star Sadr, or Gamma Cygni, is in the center of the Northern Cross and marks the breast of the swan. The star is surrounded by a diffuse nebula number IC 1318, commonly referred to as the Sadr region (Gamma Cygni region).
Double star Albireo. Photo: Syfy
Interesting deep objects located in the Swan constellation include the Swan X-1 X-ray source, the two open star clusters Messier 29 and Messier 30, the Fireworks Galaxy, and several other prominent nebulae: Pelican, the Crescent Nebula, and the Veil Nebula.
Thien Cam, is a small constellation located between the constellations Swan, Vu Tien (Hercules) and Thien Long (Draco). This constellation is easy to identify thanks to its parallelogram shape.
Lyre. Photo: Stellarium
This constellation is home to Vega, the 5th brightest star in the night sky, as well as two other famous stars. Sheliak, or Beta Lyrae, is the first of the Beta Lyrae-type variable stars, a class of binary stars so close together that matter flows from star to star, and the stars all become egg-shaped stars . Epsilon Lyrae, nicknamed the double star, consists of two binary star systems orbiting each other. Located near the star Vega, this system is a popular observation target for amateur astronomers.
The Ring Nebula, taken through an amateur telescope. Photo: Cloudy Nights
The most famous deep objects in the constellation Lyra are the globular cluster Messier 56, the famous Ring Nebula (Messier 57), the merging galaxy trio NGC 6745 and the open cluster NGC 6791.
Seen Yours
The Vu Tien constellation. Photo: Thoughtco
Seen Yours (Hercules) is the 5th largest constellation in the sky but has no bright class I or II stars. This constellation is quite easy to identify because certain stars of the constellation form the keystone, a luminous set of summer stars, representing the body of the hero Hercules. The constellation depicts Hercules standing on the head of Ladon, the mythical dragon he defeated in a series of 12 feats. This dragon is the constellation Thien Long (Draco) located right next to it.
Vu Tien has two Messier objects: the first is the globular cluster Hercules (Messier 13) and the smaller, denser and slightly dimmer Messier 92 – one of the oldest known star clusters in the Milky Way. The constellation also contains the Hercules galaxy cluster, with about 200 members, including the interacting pair of galaxies Arp 272 (NGC 6050 and IC 1179), as well as the active galaxy Hercules A.
Globular cluster Messier 13. Photo: PBase.com
Archer and Scorpion
Two zodiac constellations Scorpio And archers visible above the southern horizon in summer.
The Teapot star array of the constellation Archer. Photo: ESA/Hubble
archers (Sagittarius) is one of the most important constellations in the summer sky. It is easily recognized by the Teapot star array, which is made up of the brightest stars in the constellation. Located in the Milky Way, this constellation is home to many typical deep objects. The first is the Sagittarius A radio source, which is thought to mark the center of the Milky Way. This is followed by the elliptical dwarf galaxy Sagittarius, the Barnard galaxy, the quintuplet cluster, the gun nebula with its bright star Pistol, the Arches cluster and a total of 15 Messier objects, among them the swamp nebula (M8) , the nebula The Triple Nebula (M20), the Omega Nebula (M17), the Sagittarius star cloud (M24) and the Sagittarius star cluster (M22).
Messier 20. Photo: Lorand Fenyes
Neighboring Constellations Scorpio (Scorpius – The Scorpion) is home to many interesting stars and deep celestial bodies. The two brightest stars in the constellation, 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 end of the tail.
Constellation of Scorpio. Photo: ESA/Hubble
There are 4 Messier objects in this constellation, including the globular cluster Messier 4 and Messier 80, the open cluster Messier 6 (butterfly cluster) and Messier 7 (Ptolemy cluster). The constellation also contains the Butterfly Nebula (or Insect Nebula, NGC 6302), the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), the Northern Treasure Box Cluster (NGC 6231), and the War and Peace (NGC 6357).
Messier 6 group. Photo: Astrofotografia.eu
Snake
Snake (Ophiuchus – The Serpent) is the 11th largest constellation in the sky. Featuring the medical god Asclepius holding a serpent (the Serpent Constellation), Ophiuchus is also home to many interesting stars and deep celestial bodies.
Constellation soup. Photo: Stellarium
Rasalhague, the brightest star in the constellation, marks the head of the deity. Barnard’s Star, the fourth closest star to the Sun, is just three stars in the Alpha Centauri system. This star is only 5.96 light years away, but it is too dim to see with the naked eye. The Kepler supernova (SN 1604) is a remnant of the famous supernova observed in 1604; At its peak, it appeared as the brightest star in the sky.
Twin Gas Nebula. Photo: Hubble
Ophiuchus contains the Double Airflow Nebula (also known as Minkowski’s Butterfly Wing) and the Great Dark Nebula Barnard 68, as well as the Dark Horse Nebula, which contains the Pipe Nebula and the Nebula of the snake. This constellation also has many globular clusters listed by Charles Messier: Messier 9, Messier 10, Messier 12, Messier 14, Messier 19, Messier 62 and Messier 107.
Constellation Guide Summary
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