Constellation Lyra

Vega, the brightest star in the Summer Triangle, belongs to the constellation Lyra. It's the brightest star in the constellation. At magnitude 0, it's also the fifth brightest star in the sky.

Hanging off Vega are two pairs of stars. Two of them, the brighter of the pairs, are named Sheliak and Sulafet. The four stars form a parallelogram, as shown in the chart above.

Note another star labeled the Double Double. If your eyes are sharp enough, this star appears as a double star. These stars are doubles themselves, making the Double Double a quadruple star system. A sharp telescope on a good night will show all four stars.

References:

The 10 Brightest Stars
Constellation Lyra

Constellation Cygnus

The stars of the Northern Cross belong to the constellation Cygnus, the swan. Deneb, at magnitude 1.25, is the brightest of the stars. It's also among the top 20 brightest stars in the sky.

Deneb marks the tail of the swan. In fact, Deneb is Arabic for "tail." At the opposite end is the star Albireo marking the head of the swan. Albireo is a popular among amateur astronomers because it appears as a beautiful yellow and blue double star through a telescope.

References:

List of Brightest Stars
Constellation Cygnus
Albireo

How to Find Scorpius

If you can find Sagittarius, you can find Scorpius. Like Sagittarius, Scorpius is low in the southern sky and is just to the west (right) of Sagittarius. Its brightest stars look somewhat like a scorpion. Or perhaps you can think of it as a skewed letter J or a giant letter S or even a fish hook.

This is what it looks like next to the teapot asterism in Sagittarius.


This is close-up view of it.


Note the orange star near the upper end of Scorpius. It is the brightest star in the constellation and is therefore given the alpha designation, i.e., Alpha Scorpii. The star is better known, however, as Antares, meaning rival of Ares (Mars). Antares is the 16th brightest star in the sky.

Also note that the farther north you live, the less likely you are to see the bottom part of Scorpius.

References:

Fishhook? Snake? Letter "J"? It's Scorpius the Scorpion!
The Brightest Stars

The Teapot: How to Find Sagittarius in 2008

Sagittarius is easy to find this summer because Jupiter is right next to it. So the first step in finding Sagittarius is to find Jupiter. Look to the southeast after sunset. Jupiter is the brightest object in the sky. It is so bright that it can be seen before it gets totally dark.

Once you find Jupiter, look just to the west (right) of it. The brightest stars in Sagittarius look like a teapot. The teapot is another famous asterism. It is about 13° wide, slightly wider than your fist held at arm's length.

This is what Sagittarius looks like with constellation lines drawn. Jupiter is just to the left of the teapot.


This is the same view without constellation lines.


And this is a wide view of the southern sky. Can you still find the teapot? Hint: Start with Jupiter and look just to the right of it.

The Little Dipper

If you can find Polaris, you can find the Little Dipper in the constellation Ursa Minor. As shown in the chart below, Polaris marks the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper.


Finding the Little Dipper in the city can be a challenge. Most of its seven stars are rather faint. Here are the Little Dipper and Big Dipper with outlines drawn. The Little Dipper is on the right.

Here they are without the lines. Again, the Little Dipper is on the right.

This is what they look like from most big cities.

As you can see, only three of the Little Dipper's stars are visible -- Polaris and the two stars at the front of the bowl. The shape no longer looks familiar. Light pollution makes a big difference in what you can see in the sky.

The Big Dipper

One of the most recognizable groups of stars in the sky is the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. Most people learn to find it as children. For those who missed that lesson, go outside after dark just as the stars are starting to come out and look to the northwest. The stars of the Big Dipper are fairly bright and should be one of the first ones to appear in the evening. See if you can recognize the shape from the chart above.

If you're having trouble finding it, remember that the Big Dipper is huge, spanning 25°. Hold your hand at arm's length against the sky with your thumb and pinky finger extended. The width between those two fingers is approximately 25°. Don't forget to try your planisphere, if necessary.

Once you've located the Big Dipper, look for Mizar, the second star from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper. It is a double star, meaning it is actually two stars even though it appears a single star to the naked eye. Alcor is its companion star. Mizar and Alcor are easy to split in binoculars. If your eyes are very sharp, you might be able to see both stars without binoculars.

Callisto and Arcas

In Greek mythology, Callisto was a nymph of Artemis, the goddess of forests and hills. Zeus wanted her and took on the shape of Artemis in order to lure her and rape her. When Zeus's wife Hera found out that Callisto was pregnant, it enraged her, and she turned her into a bear.

Callisto bore a son named Arcas. Years later when Arcas was hunting, he came upon a bear. Not knowing that it was his mother, he was about to kill her when Zeus took pity on her. He placed Callisto in the sky as Ursa Major (Great Bear in Latin) and Arcas nearby as Ursa Minor (Little Bear).

Callisto is also the name of one of Jupiter's moons.

References:

Wikipedia on Callisto
Ursa Major
Ursa Minor
Jupiter and Callisto engraving by Jacopo Amigoni

The Nemean Lion

The constellation Leo is thought to have been named after the Nemean lion. Slaying the Nemean lion was the first of the twelve labors of Hercules (or Heracles) in Greek mythology.

A lion had been terrorizing the town of Nemea in Greece. Its hide was impenetrable by arrows. Hercules eventually cornered it in a cave and strangled it to death. To remove the hide as his trophy, he had to use the lion's own enormous claws to pierce its tough skin. With the hide being so impenetrable, he threw it over himself to use as an armor.

Zeus, the father of Hercules, put the slain Nemean lion into the sky as the constellation Leo.

References:
Wikipedia on the Nemean Lion
Encyclopedia Mythica on the Nemean Lion

The Sickle

Now that you know where Regulus is, you can identify the constellation Leo, the lion. The head of Leo looks like a backward question mark or a sickle. Regulus is at the bottom of the sickle. The lion's body follows to the southeast (upper left). This is what it looks like in the early evening:


At this time of year, Leo is getting ready to set, so look for Leo soon after dark. Leo is highest in the sky in the spring. If you familiarize yourself with Leo now, you'll be able recognize it in the early spring when it rises in the east looking like this: