Other articles by Tim Hunter:

Venus, Jupiter bright in southwestern sky Best time to observe the star Achernar Many cultures name all of the full moons You'll get 2 different moon views this week Before buying scope, try good binoculars Check out Fomalhaut, the 18th-brightest star Watch overnight as the moon occults Pleiades Look up Tuesday for the hunter's moon Three large constellations visible Follow the thinning moon

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Now is a good time to look for the Summer Triangle, which is an asterism of three bright stars, Altair, Deneb and Vega.

An asterism is merely a grouping of stars that's not an official constellation.

Altair is in the constellation of Aquila the Eagle, Deneb is in Cygnus the Swan, and Vega is in Lyra the Lyre. In the early evening they are directly overhead.

While you're at it, look for the minor constellations Vulpecula the Fox, Sagitta the Arrow, and Delphinus the Dolphin.

It will take a dark sky to see these smaller constellations well, but the stars of the Summer Triangle are readily visible if you know where to look.

The Summer Triangle is reasonably easy to recognize because its stars are among the brightest in the sky.

Altair is 17 light years away and is a very strange star that's rapidly rotating, having an ellipsoid shape like an egg.

Deneb is so far away its distance is not known with any certainty, but it's estimated to be roughly 3,000 light years from us. Even so, Deneb is the 19th-brightest star in our sky and probably one of the most luminous stars in the entire Milky Way.

Vega is the fifth-brightest star in the sky and is about 25 light years from us. Vega is surrounded by a large disk of gas and dust that possibly contains planets.

The moon: It's in a waning (getting smaller) gibbous (more than half lit) phase. It will be at last quarter on Saturday and new moon on Saturday.