August night sky offers Summer Triangle and more

August is perhaps the best month to enjoy the night sky.

As soon as it is dark, look almost directly overhead to find the bright-blue star Vega, which is part of the constellation Lyra. Look a few degrees to the northeast and find the bright star Deneb, which is the tail of the constellation Cygnus, the swan. Then look a few degrees due south and you find Altair, the heart of Aquila, the eagle. These stars make up the asterism known as the Summer Triangle.

Away from city lights you can view this same area of the sky and see that the Milky Way runs right down the center. The dark patches in the middle of this mass of stars are caused by clouds of interstellar dust that block the light from the more distant stars.

Jupiter has now reached opposition, which means that it rises when the sun sets and is ideal for viewing. You have to wait for it to rise above the thick atmosphere. About 11 p.m. you will find it in the southeast. It is the brightest object in that portion of the sky; after viewing it for a few moments you will notice that it does not twinkle.

Again, away from city lights, using binoculars and a star map from the Internet, you can locate Neptune, following close behind Jupiter. You will also be able to view Jupiter's four primary moons, which Galileo first saw 400 years ago.