M71
The tiny arrow known as Sagitta is in the east as night falls and arcs high overhead later on. Under dark skies you can just make out the arrow, not far to the upper left of Altair, the bright star at the southern point of the Summer Triangle.
Southern Sky
Many amateur astronomers turn their telescopes toward the south on summer evenings. The region of the sky around Sagittarius and Scorpius contains some prominent star clusters, which are popular targets.
Wild Duck Cluster
The star cluster Messier 11 is more than 6,000 light-years away, in the constellation Scutum, the shield. The cluster’s brightest stars outline the letter V, which resembles a flight of wild ducks. So M11 is also known as the Wild Duck Cluster.
Scutum
A small, faint “shield” of stars climbs high across the south tonight. Scutum represents the coat of arms on the shield of John Sobieski, a 17th-century king of Poland and one of that country’s national heroes.
One Month Away
A spectacular total solar eclipse is just one month away. It will be visible across a narrow path that stretches from Oregon to South Carolina, with the rest of the United States seeing a partial eclipse.
Lagoon Nebula
The Lagoon Nebula is visible low in the southern sky tonight. To find it, look south around 10 p.m. for Sagittarius, a pattern of stars that forms a teapot. The Lagoon Nebula is visible through a small telescope just above the teapot’s spout.
Moon and Venus
Beautiful Venus, the brilliant “morning star,” stands close to the upper left of the Moon at dawn tomorrow. The planet is brighter than any other object in the night sky other than the Moon, so it’s hard to miss.
Moon and Companions
The Moon is closing in on two bright points of light in the dawn sky: the star Aldebaran and the planet Venus. Aldebaran stands to the lower left of the Moon at first light tomorrow, with Venus, the “morning star,” farther along the same line.
Milky Way
The hazy band of the Milky Way arches high overhead tonight. It represents the muted glow of millions of stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy. Even so, it is impossible to see if you are surrounded by artificial light sources.
Delphinus II
A pretty binary climbs across the southern sky tonight. Gamma Delphini is at the snout of Delphinus, the dolphin, which is in the east as night falls. Under dark skies, Gamma Delphini looks like a single point of light, but a telescope reveals two stars.