Collins Night Sky. Wil Tirion

two more zodiacal constellations in this area of the sky. The first, Aquarius, is a rather straggling constellation in which the eye has difficulty in picking out any particular patterns. There are two moderately bright stars, Sadalmelik and Sadalsud (α and β Aquarii) and, to the west of Sadalmelik, four stars arranged in the distinctive ‘Water Jar’, also known as the ‘Y of Aquarius’. To the west is the roughly triangular constellation of Capricornus, whose brightest stars, Deneb Algedi and Dabih (δ and β Capricorni) are at the eastern and western apex, respectively.

      Autumn: Pegasus and Andromeda are guides to the autumn skies.

      A line from Scheat (β Pegasi) through Markab (α Pegasi) points down to a solitary bright star, just above the southern horizon. This is Fomalhaut (α Piscis Austrini) in the otherwise faint constellation of Piscis Austrinus. High above, between Scheat and the bottom of Cepheus, lies a small zig-zag of faint stars that forms the constellation of Lacerta.

       MONTHLY CHARTS

      The following series of charts shows the sky, each month, looking north and looking south. They are drawn for latitude 50°N and so may be used over most of Europe, Canada, and the northern United States. Observers farther north – in Scandinavia, for example – will see less of the southern constellations, and conversely, observers farther south – such as in the southern United States and around the Mediterranean – will see more of the southern sky, but lose some stars on the northern horizon. Some of the more southerly constellations have been included among those shown in detail later.