Vega and the four stars in the Dragon's head offer an opportunity to compare the first five stellar magnitudes with which all should be familiar.
LYRA (lī´-ra)—THE LYRE.
Location.—Lyra may be easily distinguished because of the brilliant Vega, its brightest star, which is situated about 12° southwest of the Dragon's head. It is unmistakable, as it is the brightest star in this region of the heavens, and the third brightest in this latitude. In July and August Vega is close to the zenith in the early evening.
The six bright stars in Lyra form an equilateral triangle on one corner of a rhomboid. A very characteristic figure.
ε is a pretty double for an opera-glass, and a 3" glass reveals the duplicity of each star of this pair. ε is therefore a double double.
ζ is a double for a good glass.
β is a variable, changing from magnitude 3.4 to 4.4 in twelve days. At its brightest it is about equal to its near neighbor γ Lyræ.