• To see this famous C-shaped assemblage of stars, you have to look high overhead on these July evenings for Corona Borealis, also known as the Northern Crown. This constellation looks like a half-circle, in the middle of which is a white jewel of a star called Gemma.
• The Crown is located more or less along a line between two bright stars: Arcturus in the constellation Bootes the Herdsman and Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp. Arcturus has already passed its highest point in the evening at this time of year and is slowly de

scending to the west. Vega is still high in the east on July evenings. With dark skies you will notice the orange color of Arcturus, and Vega's bright blue-white tinge. Corona Borealis can be found between these two stars, but you will need a dark sky to see the faint semi-circle of stars composing this constellation.
• The meaning of the Latin star name Gemma should be obvious. This star is the gem of the Northern Crown. But the star is also sometimes called Alphecca, from an Arabic phrase meaning the bright one of the dish. Gemma, aka Alphecca, is an eclipsing binary system. It consists of a smaller sun-like star that passes in front of a brighter star every 17.4 days, as seen from our earthly vantage point.
• Alphecca: Northern Crown's brightest star
• On these sultry July evenings, look for Corona Borealis' graceful semi-circle of stars to crown the top of the sky as soon as darkness falls, in between summertime's two brightest stars: Arcturus and Vega.
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