5-6 August: The August full moon is the Sturgeon Moon, so called because the mighty sturgeon, which lurks in the Great Lakes and other large bodies of water, is supposedly most easily caught this month. Fish for dinner, to celebrate!
11-12 August: The Perseid Meteor Shower reaches its peak. A great night to lie out in the back yard and wish on each meteor streak. The meteors are called Perseids because their radiant, the point they appear to come from, lies in the constellation Perseus—look to the east-northeast between midnight and dawn.
All month: the Summer Triangle. If you look straight overhead, you’ll see an almost perfect triangle of bright stars, with the Milky Way sweeping through it from the northeast to the southwest. The brightest of the triangle is Vega, brilliant white, in the constellation Lyra, the lyre. To the left of Vega as you look up is the white supergiant Deneb, marking the tail of Cygnus, the swan. Looking down toward the horizon is the white dwarf Altair, the heart of Aquila, the eagle.
For a star map of the Summer Triangle’s stars and their associated constellations, go here.
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Unfortunately, I don’t know much about astronomy. Thanks for that info. And nice picture.
I think my love for stargazing is connected with my love for history. I am endlessly fascinated by the idea of ancient pictures in the sky, and I like to collect old star maps with beautiful drawings of the imaginary and mythological creatures superimposed on the stars.
Meteor showers are fun because you get to make wishes!