If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, we would like you to observe Cygnus, the Swan, which includes the Northern Cross asterism.
Finding Cygnus is easy! If you go outside about an hour after sunset and look straight up, you should see three very bright stars. which form the Summer Triangle. The one closest to the point directly overhead (known as the Zenith) is called Deneb, and represents the Swan's tail.
This illustration show the same area of the night sky. The lefthand image is what you would see under average conditions. The middle image shows the Swan and the righthand image shows the Northern Cross.
Can you find Cygnus in the figure below?
The illustration below represents the night sky as seen from the Northern Hemisphere about an hour after sunset in early October. If you were to hold this above your head while standing outside so that the compass directions around the edge pointed in the right direction, your view should match the illustration. (Printable version available in the Activity Guide.) You might see more stars or fewer, depending on how much light pollution is in your area.
Use your mouse to point at the area of the sky that contains Cygnus. When you find it, the Swan will appear.
