Stargazing...

One of the hobbies I picked up this summer is stargazing. (I'm really into hobbies, by the way.) When Sam, Kaila, and I were camping at Cypress Hills, I picked up a little book at the gift shop in Elkwater called National Audubon Society: Constellations (Pocket Guide) and have been hooked ever since.

I have grown quite fond of what is called the Summer Triangle...

The three stars that are circled make up what is called the Summer Triangle. They are the three brightest stars from three different constellations and, although their constellations are not incredibly easy to see with the naked eye from within the city, these three brightest stars and the acute triangle that they form is rather distinct.

Every time I look at it, I am blown away. Here's my favorite bit of information about the Summer Triangle:

Altair, in the constellation Aquila, is one of the brightest stars in the sky and is about 17 light-years away from earth. 1 light-year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. So, when we look at Altair, we are actually seeing what it looked like 17 years ago. Vega, in the constellation Lyra, is 26 light-years away from earth. Deneb, the brightest star in the Cygnus constellation, is 1500 light-years away from earth. FIFTEEN HUNDRED!

Think about that.

Mind blown yet again.