Tonight's Sky - August 2024
In August, a flock of star-studded figures soars overhead. Look for the Vega and Lyra constellations, which point to Epsilon Lyrae and the Ring Nebula. You can also spot three bright summer stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair, which form the Summer Triangle. Keep watching for space-based views of these and other stars and nebulas.
Credit: NASA and the Office of Public Outreach (STScI) http://www.stsci.edu/
Credit: NASA and the Office of Public Outreach (STScI) http://www.stsci.edu/
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00:00August. Tonight's sky. Constellations.
00:13Warm August nights offer fine opportunities for stargazing,
00:18as a flock of star-studded figures soars overhead.
00:25In the southeast lies Vega,
00:28one of the brightest stars in the sky.
00:33The Greeks made Vega the anchor of the small constellation Lyra,
00:38the lyre of Orpheus.
00:43Lyra's main pattern is a small parallelogram
00:47that marks the strings of the instrument.
00:52Alongside Lyra sits Epsilon Lyrae,
00:56also known as the Double-Double,
00:59a point of light consisting of two orbiting pairs of white stars.
01:07Between the bottom two stars of the parallelogram
01:10is the Ring Nebula.
01:21NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
01:23reveals stunning details of this planetary nebula,
01:28a glowing shell of gas expelled by a dying star.
01:34The remnant core of the star, now a small, hot white dwarf,
01:39sits in the center of the shell,
01:41providing radiant energy that makes the gas glow.
01:47Our own Sun may end its life this way,
01:51in about 6 billion years.
01:58To the east of Lyra, we find a second bright star,
02:02Deneb, a distant blue-white supergiant.
02:08Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus, the swan.
02:18Marking the head of Cygnus is Albireo,
02:21a showpiece double star for small telescopes.
02:30Just south of the head of Cygnus lies a small pattern
02:34called Vulpecula, the fox.
02:39Vulpecula hosts the Dumbbell Nebula,
02:42another planetary nebula.
02:52The Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared view
02:55shows the expanding cloud of gas
02:58heated by the central remnant star, now a white dwarf.
03:05Astronomers think that the dumbbell shape of this nebula
03:09could be caused by the presence of a second star at the center.
03:17Eventually, the expelled gas of the nebula
03:20will dissipate into surrounding space,
03:24leaving only the white dwarf and its possible companion behind.
03:29To the south of Lyra and Cygnus
03:32lies another bright star of summer, Altair.
03:39Altair marks the neck of Aquila, the eagle.
03:47Just off the end of Aquila's outstretched tail
03:51lies an open star cluster.
03:56Known as the Wild Duck Cluster,
03:59early observers thought it resembled a flock of ducks
04:02flying in a roughly V-shaped formation.
04:08Taken together, the three bright summer stars,
04:12Vega, Deneb, and Altair form the Summer Triangle.
04:20Use the Summer Triangle as a guide to the stars and nebulas
04:25that glide through the late summer night.
04:33Celestial wonders await you in tonight's sky.