Guide to Constellations in the Sky During August

August is a great month for stargazing because the sky is full of constellations that are easy to find and there is the main meteor shower of the year visible at the beginning of the month. The main constellations visible during August are Cygnus, Aquila, Lacerta and Vulpecula. The Perseids meteor shower is the brightest meteor shower of the whole year and the easiest for novice stargazers to see.

Cygnus is commonly known as the Northern Cross because it appears as a huge cross in the sky. Cygnus actually depicts a swan, I like to tell young children to think of it as a large kite with Deneb at the top of the kite or the tail of the swan. Deneb is particularly important because it is the brightest star known, during August it shines directly overhead. Vega another bright star in the sky will be Southwest of Deneb and Altair will be directly South. Deneb is the brightest star because it is a red giant and therefore in the last stage of life and massive in size. To find Cygnus in the sky during August looks directly overhead, you will notice the Milky Way running in a North to South direction. Cygnus lies right in the flow of the Milky Way. Four stars run down the long stretch of the Cross and there is one star on each side.

Aquila is also a constellation that appears fairly overhead , it lies South of Cygnus closer to the horizon. The star Altair lies in Aquila. Altair represents another flying bird, the Eagle. In mythology Altair is said to be the Eagle of Zeus who delivered his messages and was a general errand runner for the God. If you look South of Cygnus you will find the stars that make up the constellation. Altair the brightest star is South of Deneb and is meant to be the head of the Eagle. Three more stars form a triangle that is the body with one star coming out on either end of the body as the wings. A single star extends down from the triangle to make the tail.

The constellation Lacerta lies Northeast of Cygnus on the opposite end of Altair. Lacerta is a small constellation that depicts a lizard, though in illustrations it does not appear as a lizard. The entire constellation consists of ten stars that form a zigzag formation through the sky.