A familiar sight for astronomers in the summer sky, this asterism is formed from the stars Altair, Deneb and Vega.

The Great Diamond consists of the stars Arcturus, Spica, Denebola and Cor Caroli and covers a large area in the spring skies.

Aquarius is not a particularly bright constellation and can be found below the square of Pegasus. The most prominent part of the constellation is the Y shaped figure of 4 stars representing the water jar itself centred on the star zeta. Together with gamma, eta and pi this little area is often called the ‘Water Jar’.

Leo’s Sickle, which represents the head and shoulders of the Lion, is formed by six stars: Epsilon, Mu, Zeta, Gamma, Eta, and Alpha Leonis (the last one is better known as Regulus, or Cor Leonis, the Lion’s Heart). The Sickle is a hallmark of spring skies in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Orion’s Sword asterism hangs just below his belt. At a glance, it is made up of what looks like three fainter stars below the brighter stars Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka of Orion’s Belt. The Orion Nebula or M42 is also a part of this asterism, making it easier to recognize.

The winged horse of Greek mythology, born from the blood of Medusa after she was slain by Perseus, who can be found nearby in the sky. This is an autumn constellation.

The most famous feature in the constellation is the great square outlined by 4 stars. This is similar to the Plough, in that the square of Pegasus is not a constellation but an asterism.

Staying with Sagittarius we continue with the teapot to go with the milk dipper from the last podcast.
The “Teapot” asterism is part of the constellation of Sagittarius. Grab a nice cup of tea, head outside, and try and see if you can see the “Teapot”.

Another of my searches across the sky finds yet another star, this time 40 Ursa Major which was catalogued by John Flamsteed and should not be in his list as it is below naked eye visibility. I have no idea what is going on.

In the next two asterisms we will be looking at a milk dipper or Plough and a teapot, both are in the constellation of Sagittarius the archer. They are as you might expect close together in the sky so some of the stars will be found in both asterisms.

Capella in the constellation of Auriga the Charioteer is the 6th brightest star in the sky.

Capella whose name means the ‘Little She Goat’ slightly to the right and just below Capella is a little but quite distinct triangle of stars called the Haedi or the kids. They are referred to as the Kids because where the she goat goes the kids will always follow!!