When we started the month, Venus was above both Mars and Jupiter, but this weekend it will be between Mars and Jupiter. Don’t forget to have a look.

August’s full moon is the Sturgeon Moon, a name taken from the ancient fish that was once plentiful in the lakes and rivers ...

Altair is set apart from Vega and Deneb because it's flanked by two dimmer stars. Above Altair is the third-magnitude star, Tarazed and below Altair is the fourth magnitude star, Alshain.

The Summer Triangle’s Vega will already be high in the sky, with Deneb and Altair following. The image depicts the view looking east around 9:30 p.m. (Blaine Friedlander/Dan Stillman) ...

You’ll see three bright stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. These mark the corners of the “Summer Triangle” and are your guides to the three constellations of Lyra, Cygnus, and Aquila.

Although Venus is brighter, Saturn and Jupiter in every other way are superior to Venus for observers. With a telescope magnifying 30-power, the famous rings of Saturn begin to be visible.

Vega, in the constellation Lyra, the lyre, is somewhat more massive than Altair, but nearly four times as luminous. Even though it’s 25 light-years away, it appears to be a bit brighter than its ...