Homeboy Astronomy Blog - Homeboy Astronomy Blog – Down-to-Earth Advices for Amateur Astronomers

Vega can be seen well now in November. It is the main star in the constellation of Lyra. When watching the sky from Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway), Vega is the third brightest star. Only Arcturus and Sirius are brighter. In northern hemisphere, Vega is fifth brightest star. It is, by the way, interesting to know that Vega was the first star photographed in 1853.

Vega is a little more difficult to locate than Polar Star for instance. This is because Vega does not line up with the most well-known constellations such as Orion. A good point is that Vega is one of the brightest stars in the northern sky, so it helps a little to find it.

Few days ago I posted an article describing how to locate Big Dipper. Read it now if you have not seen yet. Locate first Big Dipper. When you see it, you should be able to recognize Cassiopeia above Big Dipper. Use this same logic to find Lyra. Turn your head to left and try to locate a bright star close to Big Dipper. You should be able to recognize the Lyra constellation in which the Vega star is located, as shown in the figure.

This was a quick tip for finding Vega. I hope this was helpful. If yes/not, please leave a comment or message. If you did like this article, please consider subscribing to my email newsletter and/or RSS feed in the top right corner.