because of the brilliant
Vega, its brightest star, which is situated about 12[deg] southwest of the
Dragon's head. It is unmistakable, as it is the brightest star in this
region of the heavens, and the third brightest in this latitude. In
July and August Vega is close to the zenith in the early evening.

The six bright stars in Lyra form an equilateral triangle on one
corner of a rhomboid. A very characteristic figure.

[e] is a pretty double for an opera-glass, and a 3" glass reveals the
duplicity of each star of this pair. [e] is therefore a double double.

[z] is a double for a good glass.

[b] is a variable, changing from magnitude 3.4 to 4.4 in twelve days.
At its brightest it is about equal to its near neighbor [g] Lyrae.

The noted ring nebula lies between [b] and [g]. A 3" glass reveals it
but a powerful telescope is required to render its details visible.

If the distance from the earth to the sun equalled one inch, the
distance from the earth to Vega would be 158 miles.

Vega was the first star to be photographed, in 1850. It is visible at
some hour every clear night, and has been called the arc-light of the
sky. Its light has the bluish-white hue that suggests "a diamond in
the sky."

The spectroscope reveals that Vega is a star probably only in its
infancy, as hydrogen is its predominating element.

[Illustration: LYRA]

CYGNUS (sig'-nus)--THE SWAN, OR THE NORTHERN CROSS.

LOCATION.--Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus, is at the top of the
cross, and a little over 20[deg] east of Vega. It forms a triangle with
Vega and Altair in Aquila--Altair being at the apex, about 35[deg] from
Deneb and Vega.

[b] Cygni is at the base of the cross, and a line drawn from Vega to
Altair nearly touches it. It is a beautiful colored double for a small
telescope.

Note "61," one of the nearest stars to us. It was the first star whose
distance was measured (by Bessel in 1838). It is a double star and
10.4 light years distant.

The cross is nearly perfect and easily traced out. It lies almost
wholly in the Milky Way.

Note "The Coal Sack," one of the dark gap in the Milky Way.

Cygnus contains an unusual number of deeply colored stars and variable
stars.

[o] Cygni has a sixth-magnitude companion, and [g] is in the midst of
a beautiful stream of faint stars.

This region is perhaps richer than any similar extent in the heavens.
An opera-glass will reveal many of its beauties.

Herschel counted