No, that’s not a type-o. Though the weather definitely reflects winter, the pattern of stars known as the Summer Triangle will be visible throughout the month of December. It features the prominent stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Maybe you’ve seen it before, high overhead during the summer months. To see it now, look in the western sky just after sunset.
Start by facing almost directly west and scanning the sky high above your horizon. Vega is the brightest star in this asterism, so it might be the first one you’ll locate. After finding it, search the sky above it to find Deneb, and scan to the south of it to locate Altair.
As a side-note, Vega is a part of the small, diamond-shaped constellation Lyra. Deneb serves as the “tail” for Cygnus the Swan, and Altair is part of Aquila the Eagle. You don’t have to know these constellations in order to find the Summer Triangle, but they are fun to pick out after you have located it.
Fast Fact: What’s an asterism? It’s a pattern of stars we see within a constellation, or featuring stars from multiple constellations.
