Summer Stars

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I had better luck photographing constellations (although it's difficult to make out the stars when the pictures are minimized).  I think I like this one of the Big Dipper and Arcturus (on the left) the most.

The Big Dipper and Arcturus always remind me of my dad.  He taught astronomy in the seventies, and during the naked eye astronomy portion of his course, he'd have different little nemonic sayings he'd share with the class.  One was "Arc to Arcturus, spike to Spica," telling you start at the Big Dipper and follow the arc of its handle to Arcturus and keep on going until you got to Spica (in Virgo ).  He would frequently point out the Great Summer Triangle, made up of the stars, Altair, Deneb, and Vega.  I can never quite remember which star is which.  Checking my references, Altair is in Aquila the Eagle,  Deneb is in Cygnus the Swan, and Vega is in Lira the Lyre.  Dad would point out and name the constellations, and there was a good chance that when he was talking about Vega, he would try to keep a straight face and say, "Lyre, Lyre, pants on fire."

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