The Summer Triangle is an asterism of three stars – Deneb, Vega, and Altair. An asterism is a familiar star pattern – either a small but easily recognisable part of a constellation or as in the case of the Summer Triangle, a star pattern made up of bright stars taken from several different constellations. Each star Deneb, Vega, and Altair is found in a separate constellation – Cygnus the Swan, Lyra the Harp, and Aquila the Eagle, respectively. 

The Summer Triangle is one of the largest asterisms and is easy to spot due to the stars being very bright. Throughout the summer months it can be found in the south around midnight. The brightest star you will spot in the Summer Triangle is Vega, which is also the second brightest star in the northern hemisphere (the first being Arcturus). 

The most exciting part about the Summer Triangle is what you find inside it. The arm of the Milky Way goes straight through the Summer Triangle. It may look like a cloud, but it is in fact the obscuring gas and dust cloaking the billions of stars in our galaxy. The constellation Cygnus is a swan, so it appears to be swimming along the Milky Way! However, the Milky Way can only be seen with minimal light pollution. To find your nearest dark sky site using Go Stargazing.  

Cygnus is also known as the Northern Cross and is home to a black hole – Cygnus X-1. This black hole emits X-rays and was the first galactic X-ray source accepted as a black hole. 

Since April, the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn have been lining up in the night sky. By 24 June, the five planets and the Moon will align from the Earth’s perspective from east to south. This is a rare event so will be a fantastic photo opportunity. The best time to view this is just before sunrise. Uranus and Neptune are also in this alignment; however you won’t be able to see them with the naked eye. You’ll need a telescope to spot these ice giant planets. It is important to point out that the planets are not actually aligned in the Solar System, they just appear aligned in the sky.

Saturn will reach opposition on 14 August, rising in the southeast around sunset in the constellation of Capricornus, and will be visible all night. When a planet is at opposition, the Solar System is aligned so that the planet in question lies on the same side of the Sun as the Earth, so is fully illuminated. At this time Saturn will also make its closest approach to Earth, making it appear its largest and brightest. Its highest point in the sky will be around 1:00am and is best to view with a telescope to be able to see the rings. 

Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Its rings are mostly made of ice particles, rocky debris, and dust. It has the greatest number of moons in the Solar System, currently standing at 82. One of Saturn’s moons Titan, has an atmosphere and is larger than Mercury.