It's all worth it though. On a clear night, the northern hemisphere night sky is ablaze with a display of moons, planets, stars, galaxies, star clusters and other phenomena.

Every star labeled on this map of Hercules, Boötes, and Ursa Major is a double star, worth exploring with a small telescope. Some, like Mizar in the Dipper's handle, can be split with the naked eye.

Standing almost directly overhead around midnight on July nights is the brilliant bluish-white star, Vega, in the constellation of Lyra, the Harp. It's the fifth brightest star in the entire sky ...

Tuesday, May 21: Vega Rising The yardstick for the brightness of all other stars—and at anchor of the summer night sky in the northern hemisphere—Vega can be seen rising in the northeast this ...

The brightest star in the night sky is the Sirius star. According to NASA, it is over 20 times brighter than our sun and twice as massive, though it might not appear that way to the naked eye.

In early evening in late December, say around 7 p.m., look due north. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, first see the five stars making the “M” of Cassiopeia, high up. This is easy to spot.

There's so many star clusters and nebulae, clouds of gas and dust that are forming stars." O'Donoghue spoke with Northern Light co-hosts Monica Sandreczki and Catherine Wheeler. The Milky Way.