The Summer Triangle consists of three bright stars - Vega, Deneb and Altair - in three separate constellations. If you can find the Summer Triangle, you can use it to locate three of the sky's smallest constellations: Vulpecula the Fox, Delphinus the Dolphin and Sagitta the Arrow.

EarthSky's meteor shower guide for 2012

All three would be impossible to see from the city. And personally - true confession ahead here - I've never man

aged to identify Vulpecula in my 30+ years of stargazing. It's just so faint and so small!

On the other hand, the little constellations Delphinus and Sagitta are very distinctive. They're easy to see in a dark country sky, because both actually look somewhat like the objects/creatures for which they're named. Delphinus is supposed to be the Dolphin that carried a Greek poet - Arion - safely away from his enemies. Sagitta is sometimes considered to be an arrow shot from the bow of Hercules.