Remembering Three Summer Beauties

Remembering Three Summer Beauties

Astrophotographer Valerie Liard "A magical night under the stars . . . The Summer Triangle, formed by Deneb, Vega and Altair, shines above us, while the distant Andromeda Galaxy reveals itself millions of light-years away . . ."

The Summer Triangle is an astronomical asterism in the northern celestial hemisphere. Its defining vertices form a triangle and are Altair, Deneb, and Vega, each the brightest star of its constellation (Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra, respectively).

The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. It was originally named the Andromeda Nebula and is cataloged as Messier 31 (M31) and NGC 224.

Andromeda galaxy's distance from Earth: 2.5 million light years

Andromeda galaxy has ~1 trillion stars

Image Credit: Valerie Liard/Vega Star Photography
Image Date: Aug. 23, 2025
Release Date: Nov. 13, 2026

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