Friday, August 23, 2024

Small Constellations on High (evening)

On late-August evenings, four small constellations sit high the southeastern sky below the very bright star Vega. The easiest one to see is Delphinus, the Dolphin, which is composed of four medium-bright stars forming a small elongated diamond connected to a straight tail star extending to the lower right (or celestial southwest). Equuleus, the Little Horse is positioned about a fist's diameter below Delphinus. Diminutive Equuleus is the second to last constellation by size, after Crux, the Southern Cross. Sitting a generous fist's width above Delphinus is the next smallest constellation by area, Sagitta, the Arrow. And sweeping a palm's width higher will bring you to the stars of Vulpecula, the Fox. Except for the slightly larger fox, each of these small constellations will fit within the field of view of binoculars. The
Milky Way passes through Sagitta and Vulpecula, populating them with a variety of deep sky objects. The sky between those two constellations hosts a dark
dust lane.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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