Vega will be your starting point for the Summer Triangle. The other two stars are Deneb in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila. Drawing a line from Altair through Vega lands you in Draco then to Ursa Major. Using the curve of the Big Dipper's handle you arc to Arcturus then speed down to Spica. Following the long neck of Cygnus, takes you along the Milky Way down to Sagittarius and Scorpius. This area of our galaxy contains a wealth of deep sky objects for the observer.
M31 The Andromeda Galaxy. Most distant object visible to naked eye is at magnitude 3.5.
M12 A fine globular at magnitude 6.7. From here you can go to M10.
M10 3° from the M12. Slightly brighter than M12 is another fine sight.
M22 A spectacular globular star cluster. At magnitude 5.5 can be seen with the naked eye. Beats M13 by light years.
M4 A close globular. Bright at magnitude 5.6. Another fine globular in a medium sized scope. Look for the bar of stars through the center.
M6 Butterfly Cluster. Use your 7x binoculars for this one. A naked eye open cluster.
M7 Superb open cluster. Visible to the naked eye. Another binocular cluster. Also known as the Ptolemy Cluster.
M11 Wild Duck Cluster. V-shaped open cluster. Fantastic at medium power.
Albireo A beautiful optical double star. Contrasting colors of gold and blue. Sometimes called the UCLA star.
Clear and Dark Skies, Dave Holland
