The appearance this week of the three bright stars of the Summer Triangle made up of Vega, Deneb and Altaïr, marks the start of summer in the northern hemisphere. Find out how to spot them.
THE astronomical events are always captivating, whether it’s a comet, a shooting star or the Northern Lights. Recently, a total solar eclipse plunged North America into darkness, causing eye pain to those who viewed it without proper protection. Unfortunately, we missed this show from France, as it was not visible from our country. Fortunately, a less harsh phenomenon for the eyes is now observable from our land without special precautions.
This phenomenon is a group of stars is known as “Summer triangle. It is a simple but vast formation made up of three very bright and different stars. Not only their presence in the night sky indicates the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere but also winter in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is called the Winter Triangle. It also marks the area to look for the Milky Way in a dark sky.
The Summer Triangle is observable with the naked eye when the night sky is clear
The Summer Triangle is not an official constellation, but a asterism. Behind this complicated word is simply a recognizable pattern, formed from stars from different constellations. This trio is easily spotted throughout the summer the naked eye and it offers a beautiful spectacle when the sky is clear at night.
The Summer Triangle consists of three bright stars coming from three distinct constellations: Vega in Lyra, Deneb in the Swan and Altaïr in the Eagle. The first is the most famous of the three and is visible first. She rises in the east after dark. It’s is one of the brightest stars due to its size and proximity to our solar system, located only 25 light years away.
On the same subject – SpaceX succeeds in bringing Starship back in one piece, Elon Musk can now aim for the Moon
Below and to the right of Vega is Altaïr, the 12th brightest star, located just 17 light years from Earth. Like the first, this one is about twice as massive and wide as our sun. Deneb, the third star of the Summer Triangle, is visible towards the northeast. Although less bright than the other two, it is remarkable for its distance of 2600 light years and its massive size, approximately 20 times the mass and 200 times the radius of our daylight star.