How to find the Summer Triangle
When to look
July, August, September, October evenings
Face high overhead
Three bright stars from three different constellations, in a big triangle. Vega is the brightest. Summer and early autumn evenings, high overhead; low in the west by December evenings. The drawing below is made from the real positions of its 3 stars, as the sky looks when you face it, with bigger dots for brighter stars. No telescope needed.
The Summer Triangle is three bright stars in a big triangle. Look high up on summer nights. Vega is the brightest.
The Summer Triangle is made of the brightest stars of three constellations: Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila. In summer evenings it's overhead; by December it's sinking in the west after dark.
Deneb looks faintest of the three but is by far the most powerful: it is thousands of times brighter than the Sun and very far away. The Milky Way runs through the triangle, between Vega and Altair.
The stars in it
Vega, Deneb, Altair. The brightest is Vega.
How to find it
- Go out after dark with a grown-up, and give your eyes ten minutes away from screens.
- Face high overhead and look for: three bright stars from three different constellations, in a big triangle. Vega is the brightest.
- Hold up this page's drawing or the printed card and match the shape to the sky. If the sky is clear.
More star patterns
“Star patterns turn through the night, so the shape may be tipped on its side. Turn your head, not the sky.”