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Health & Fitness

The Summer Triangle

The Summer Triangle is an asterism made up of the three stars Vega, Deneb and Altair. Each of these stars is part of separate constellations and among the 20 brightest stars in the sky. Vega is in Lyra, Deneb is in Cygnus and Altair is in Aquila. As you might expect, the Summer Triangle is very visible during the summer. It rises high into the summer night sky and is fairly easy to pick out. Early in the summer it is in the east after sunset but gets progressively higher, at sunset, as the summer moves on and by the fall it is to the west at sunset.

Lyra is the Lyre, or better known to most of us as a harp. The Lyre is said to have been invented by the Greek god Hermes, the Messenger god (known as Mercury to the Romans). Cygnus is the Swan. Zeus, the chief god of the Greeks (known as Jupiter to the Romans), was said to sometimes take the form of a Swan when he wanted to disguise himself. Cygnus contains another asterism known as the Northern Cross. Aquila is the Eagle. This symbolizes the Eagle that was said to carry the thunderbolts of Zeus. There are many things to see within the Summer Triangle but I will mention just three of them here - the Ring Nebula (Messier 57), Albireo and Brocchi’s Cluster.

The Ring Nebula is a Messier object  - Messier 57. It is in the constellation Lyra and is a Planetary Nebula. A planetary nebula is not a planet but a star that has ejected a significant portion of its mass in a gaseous shell which is then made to glow by the star’s hot core. The Ring Nebula needs to be seen from a dark location. I haven’t been able to see this from Lynbrook but it can be seen well in good conditions from Jones Beach State Park or Robert Moses State Park through a telescope.

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Albireo is a double star in the constellation Cygnus. It is at the foot of the Northern Cross. A double star usually looks like one star when seen with your naked eye but when seen through a telescope it is actually 2 stars. The stars can be very close together, even orbiting each other or they can be very far from each other (one further away from Earth then the other) but lined up perfectly so that they seem to be right next to each other as viewed from Earth. There are many examples of double stars but Albireo is an outstanding double – one star is blue and the other is yellow. I have seen Albireo through a telescope from my backyard in Lynbrook but it isn’t easy to find.

Brocchi’s Cluster (the Coathanger) is an asterism in the constellation Vulpecula. It is best seen with binoculars and is just west of the Summer Triangle about half way between Vega and Altair. The stars in Brocchi’s Cluster form a coathanger shape. This is one of my favorite things to look at in the sky. It is easy to find and I have seen it many times from my backyard in Lynbrook with binoculars. The coathanger alignment is almost comical.

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An asterism is a recognized pattern of stars as seen from Earth. Asterisms can be small or large. They can be contained within one constellation, like the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, or they may be made up of stars in several constellations, like the Summer Triangle. The stars may be in the same general direction from Earth but some may be much further away from Earth than others.

A constellation is also a recognized pattern of stars but since 1922, each of the 88 constellations in the sky are not only a specified pattern of stars but also are defined as a specific area of the sky. The 88 constellations, as defined by IAU – the International Astronomical Union, cover the entire sky. Stars in a constellation are not necessarily near each other. They may be in the same general direction from Earth but some are much further away from Earth than others.

Messier Objects are a list of 110 things to see in the sky. Charles Messier was a comet hunter in the 1700s. He made a list of things he found in the sky that were not comets – to keep from wasting time looking at them. Today his list of 110 objects are called M1, M2, M3, etc. The objects include galaxies, star clusters, and supernova remnants.  Some of the objects are easy to see while others can be very difficult, but all are worth the effort to see them.

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