summer constellations - northern hemisphere

i took a set of photos of constellations that lie along the milky way and are prominent in the summer sky in the northern hemisphere. constellation outlines are done in green; names of stars (or planet) are in other colors. all photos were taken at the same scale, so you can directly compare the size of one constellation with another. constellations mentioned are scorpius (the scorpion), sagittarius (the archer), aquila (the eagle), sagitta (the arrow), delphinus (the dolphin), cygnus (the swan -- also contains the northern cross), and lyra (the lyre). the bright stars which you should use as your guides are antares, and the members of the summer triangle -- vega, deneb and altair. if you need help locating these stars for your location, try http://www.skyviewcafe.com/ -- free planetarium software that runs in your browser.

the best time to look for these constellations is around 1 am local time at the end of june, 11 pm local time at the end of july, and 9 pm local time at the end of august. this is when they will be closest to overhead.

thanks to julia and her family for making this vacation and the photo opportunities possible.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• astronomy
• constellations
• milky
• way
• summer
• vega
• deneb
• altair
• antares
• scorpius
• sagittarius
• lyra
• cygnus
• aquila

[remooner]

Thanks to you.....my family is going to have a great weekend finding and watching stars :-)

[kwakhed23]

Thanks! Hope you have a great time!

[Leny1777]

I been trying to look wheres Lyra!. Thank you.

[kwakhed23]

if you're in the U.S. or Europe or China (or similar latitudes), Vega is rising in the northeast around 9pm. Look for the other stars nearby and to the south. To give you an idea of the size, if you hold your fist at arm's length away from your face, it will cover Lyra.

[wigglescrf]

we need more people like you

[kwakhed23]

thanks...  i'd say something about cloning, but then there's the whole "nature vs. nurture" argument, and...

well, thanks, and thanks for subscribing. :-)

[outterheaven999x]

stop looking into my soul.... nah im jk danx for the info! im just getting into star gazing:)

[Manolo1013]

Im looking to invest in a good quality telescope for a novice sky watcher. Any recomendations?

[CERCARIA]

I had a star named after a nephew and it is in the Aquila constellation.Before this I wouldn't have known a constellation from a day time soap,but now I'm interested.Interested in constellations.Thanks loads for the info.

[fireshot598]

sigh i want to become an expert on costellations i love em!

[gtspoke]

hi iam looking for lyrids meteor shower is south east

[Leny1777]

Im not quite sure that the star Vega is close to Orion? Is it... Because Orion is the only Constellation that I pick up very fast at sight. At what time is best to look at Vega. Because I been getting outside at 10:00 p.m. and see this bright star at east coast. So i should check North east... Okay thank you.