Quote:
Originally Posted by
jujune29th 
Sophie nodded when Tayla said she would take a little break. She kept looking up, trying to find the brightest star she was searching. Her eyes kept looking back at Polaris. She shook her head and concentrated more on finding the other bright star. Maybe if she used the telescope it would be easier to not keep looking back at Polaris. And it would be good to practice! Alright.
She was looking through her telescope, trying to find Deneb, the brightest star of Cygnus, when Tayla read out loud the things about the constellation. Sophie frowned and looked down at her friend.
"Summer and autumn? But we're in winter! Do you think we can still find it now?"
She looked at the pages Tayla was showing her and tilted her head a little.
"Where's the double star in this?" She pointed at the star that was at the opposite side of the 'line' Deneb was.
"Is this it? I thought this was the tail!" Wait, what?
"What is this triangle thing??" 
Gaaahhh, she was getting confused!
"It's not part of the swan, right?" She stared harder at the picture, trying to figure it out. She wondered how people had managed to see a swan in those stars when they were naming constellations.
"Since winter is the opposite of summer, I don't think we'll be able to see this... triangle thing... will we?" She looked with a confused face at Tayla.
Tayla was starting to get confused herself. She shook her head, took a deep breath, and organized her thoughts.
"Okay...let's review a little bit," she began, opening her book again.
"We're looking for the constellation Cygnus, which is a swan. It's one of the most recognizable constellations in summer and autumn - it can be seen from the month of June to the month of November."
Tayla checked herself. It was still late October. So they were safe right?
"Albireo, the double star with blue and yellow components, is at the swan's head. The double star is seen as one by the naked eye, but clearly two using the telescope.
"Deneb, on the other hand, is at the swan's tail - and is one star of the summer triangle. Oh...and don't worry, Sophie. The summer triangle is visible in the evening well until November. It says here, a more neutral name for it is the 'Northern Triangle'."
Tayla nodded as she reviewed everything she had said.
She turned the page back at the
photo she was showing Sophie. Pointing at it, she explained.
"We can see the triangle clearly right here. Deneb is a part of that triangle and is the tail, so opposite that, here inside the triangle, is Albireo, the double star at the swan's head.
"Can you imagine it? The tail Deneb part of the triangle, then the wings of course, and moving inside the triangle, the swan's neck, and at the end, the swan's head Albireo."
Tayla hoped the younger girl understood. She handed the book to Sophie and looked up at the sky again, trying to spot Cygnus. She didn't think it would take too long to find, now with a little help from the book.