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season: midsummer
section: what the stars are showing
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- the summer triangle dominates: vega, deneb, altair, high and bright
- the milky way runs through it, visible on clear dark nights away from town
- scorpius is at his highest, the curved tail sweeping low in the south
- sagittarius follows scorpius, his teapot shape pointing toward the center of the galaxy
- cygnus the swan flies down the milky way, deneb at his tail
- the perseid meteors begin in late july, peaking in august, bits of comet swift-tuttle

the milky way was called the "backbone of night" by some old cultures. in midsummer it arches overhead like a bridge from horizon to horizon. go somewhere dark and look up.

the perseids have been watched for two thousand years. the old catholics called them "the tears of saint lawrence," who was martyred in august. the chinese recorded them in 36 AD. they are the most reliable meteor shower and the best one for warm-weather watching.

when you look toward sagittarius, you are looking toward the center of the galaxy. twenty-six thousand light-years of stars, dust, and darkness. the teapot shape is pouring out the densest part of the milky way. the old astronomers did not know what they were seeing. we barely do.