Vega is a bright bluish star on May evenings

Look for Vega tonight. It’s the 5th brightest star in our sky. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll find beautiful, bluish Vega easily, simply by looking northeastward at mid-evening in May. Vega is so bright that you can see it on a moonlit night. From far south in the Southern Hemisphere, you’ll see Vega late at night in May. That’s because Vega is located so far north on the sky’s dome. Vega will reach its high point for the night around three to four hours after midnight, at which time people in the Southern Hemisphere can see Vega in their northern sky. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, Vega shines high overhead at this early morning hour. Because it’s the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the Harp, Vega is sometimes called the Harp Star. Like all stars, Vega rises some four minutes earlier each day as Earth moves around the sun. So, Vega will adorn our evening sky throughout the summer and fall. And it’s also part of the Summer Triangle. That’s an asterism made of the three bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb. Although Vega is considered a late spring or summer star, it’s so far north on the sky’s dome that – from mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere – you can find it at some time during the night, nearly every night of the year. Observers in the Northern Hemisphere typically begin noticing Vega in the evening around May, when this star comes into view in the northeast in mid-evening. Throughout northern summer, Vega shines brightly in the east in the evening. It’s high overhead on northern autumn evenings, and in the northwest by December evenings. Via Daniel Gaussen, Founder & Guide – Stargaze Mackenzie – New Zealand From the Southern Hemisphere, Vega remains a low northern star. It never climbs high above the horizon, reaching a maximum altitude of only about 15° as seen from New Zealand. From these latitudes, Vega’s entire passage across the sky – from rising to setting – takes only about four hours! In May evenings it is not yet a prominent evening star. Instead, it appears in the early morning hours and gradually climbs toward its best altitude before dawn. As the months progress through winter, Vega shifts into more convenient evening viewing, and by August through September it reaches its highest point in the evening, becoming a clear bluish presence above the northern horizon. Because Vega stays low in southern skies, it is more strongly affected by atmospheric dimming and color distortion than it is for northern observers, often appearing less sharp in a telescope and more noticeably twinkling to the naked eye. Yet even from far southern latitudes, Vega’s brilliance makes it easy to identify. It remains one of the brightest northern stars visible from the south, with its blue-white light providing a useful and easily recognisable reference point for orienting the northern sky. Bottom line: If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, Vega is easy to identify in its constellation Lyra at this time of year. Just look northeast in the evening hours for a bright, bluish star above the northeastern horizon. The post Vega is a bright bluish star on May evenings first appeared on EarthSky.