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season: early-summer
section: what the stars are showing
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- the summer triangle is rising in the east: vega, deneb, and altair
- vega in lyra appears first, blue-white and unmistakable
- scorpius crawls along the southern horizon, antares glowing red at his heart
- arcturus is nearly overhead, the king of the summer zenith
- the big dipper begins to tip westward, pouring out the long days
- corona borealis, the northern crown, a small perfect arc of stars near arcturus

antares means "rival of mars" because of its red color. the old greeks saw it and thought of war. the old farmers saw it and thought of heat.

vega was the north star fourteen thousand years ago and will be again. the chinese saw it as the weaving girl, separated from her lover the cowherd (altair) by the river of the milky way. they meet once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh month.

corona borealis, the northern crown, was ariadne's wedding crown, thrown into the sky by dionysus. it is small and easy to miss, but once you find it you will always see it. a perfect half-circle of stars, like something placed there on purpose.