If stars had trophy cases, Vega’s would be packed. The leading light of Lyra was the first star other than the Sun to have its picture taken, the first to have its spectrum taken, and the first with a published measurement of its distance.

Vega is impressive in many ways. It’s more than twice the size and mass of the Sun, and about 50 times the Sun’s brightness. It’s encircled by a wide belt of dust, produced by collisions between big chunks of ice and rock. In about 12,000 years, it’ll serve as the Pole Star. And in about 200,000 years it’ll become the brightest star in the night sky.

Vega first had its picture taken in 1850. In 1872, an astronomer took a picture of its spectrum, spreading its light into its individual wavelengths. A spectrum reveals a star’s composition, motion, and much more.

In 1838, Russian astronomer Friedrich von Struve published Vega’s parallax – the first publication for any star. He plotted its position when Earth was on opposite sides of the Sun. That revealed a tiny shift against the background of more-distant objects. That shift revealed a distance of about 26 light-years – just one light-year off the modern measurement.

Vega is low in the east-northeast at nightfall and climbs high overhead during the night. It’s the fifth-brightest star in the night sky, so you can’t miss it – a beautiful star with a case full of trophies.

Script by Damond Benningfield