• Here is the star Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, you'll find this beautiful bluish star by looking northeastward in mid-evening. It's so bright that you can notice it, even when no other stars are visible. Because it is the brightest in the constellation Lyra the Harp, Vega is sometimes called the Harp Star.
• Try it! Just look northeast tonight in mid-evening. You'll see this bright bluish star shining above that horizon. From far south in the Southern Hemisphere, by the way, you can't often see this star because it is

located so far south on the sky's dome. I'm not sure if or when it's visible from, say, the latitude of South Africa. We'll check that out for a future post.
• Read more about Vega's constellation Lyra
• Vega is a lovely star to come to know. When I was first learning the night sky, nearly 40 years ago, I spent hours, days, weeks, months poring over charts and books. So I sometimes came to know the names and whereabouts of certain stars before seeing them in the night sky. One soft May evening, I happened to glance toward the northeast. I was thrilled at the sight of Vega - gleaming, sapphire-blue - and surprisingly bright for being so low in the sky.
• Like all stars, Vega rises earlier each day as Earth moves around the sun. So Vega will ornament our evening sky throughout the summer and fall. Although Vega is considered a late spring or summer star, it's actually so far north on the sky's dome that you can find it at some time during the night, nearly every night of the year.
• Bottom line: It's easy to identify the star Vega in the constellation Lyra at this time of year. Just look northeast in the evening for a bright, bluish star above the northeastern horizon.