The+Summer+Triangle

SUMMER TRIANGLE Page Editor: Erica Saldana Spring 2012

The Summer Triangle is an asterism in the northern celestial sphere formed from the stars Deneb, Altair, and Vega. During the summer months the triangle can be viewed directly overhead around midnight, but it is also visible during spring in the early morning and in autumn in the evening. Deneb lies in the constellation Cygnus the Swan and is the largest of the three stars. Altair is located in the constellation Aquila the Eagle and Vega belongs to the constellation Lyra the Lyre.

In Asia, there is a myth that surrounds this asterism. The Milky Way is referred to as the Celestial River and the common story behind the Summer Triangle is that there was a celestial princess, who weaves the fabric of heaven, named Orihime (Vega) and she fell in love with a a young herdsman Hikoboshi (Altair). The princess was so enamored with the herdsman that she accidentally neglected her weaving duties. Her father, the Celestial Emperor, found out about them and became so enraged that he forced Hikoboshi to live on the opposite side of the River in order to seperate the two lovers. The Emperor eventually gave in to the princess' pleas and allowed his daughter to meet with her beloved once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. Deneb represents the flock of magpies that form a bridge to allow the herdsman to cross over the starry river. However, there are times when the journey through the Celestial River become too treacherous and Hikoboshi doesn't make it to their meeting. When this occurs, it is said that Orihime sheds tears in the form of rain here on Earth.

=1. Astronomy - Summer Triangle=
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‍AUTHOR: Bruce McClure LAST UPDATED: January 1, 2003 ‍DATE REVIEWED: May 18, 2012 ‍REVIEWED BY: Erica S.


 * ACCURACY:** The information on this site seems accurate and up to date since there have been no major changes in the asterism itself. The facts on the page are consistent with the information on other sites as well. It gives the names of the stars and the the constellations they belong to. Another good thing about this site is that it actually tells you how to find the Summer Triangle in the night sky by locating Cygus the Swan and working your way down it's "tail" to find Albireo, which is a star that is located roughly between Altair and Vega. It's a beautiful sight to behold and once you master finding Cygnus, you can always find the backbone of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The audience is most likely high school to college students. The page was given a 55.5 on the Flesch Reading Ease Scale, which puts it in the fairly difficult range. Prior knowledge of the subject might be needed to understand some of the vocabulary used on this page but it's still clear and gives plenty of information. This site has external links on some words for those who need more information on a particular subject in order to fully understand what they are reading.
 * READABILITY and CLARITY:**

The overall ease of navigation for this page is good. The site is uncluttered and has links that easily take you to other pages for further information on the Summer Triangle or other asterisms and constellations. It stays clear of unwanted ads but one or two might occassionally be on the page, but they can be easily ignored and don't interfere with the information on the page. There a few external links attached to the star names, which lead to other pages on the same site that give further information about the history and science behind them.
 * NAVIGATION:**

=2. Souled Out - The Summer Triangle=
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 AUTHOR: Souled Out Media Team LAST UPDATED: Unknown ‍DATE REVIEWED: May 19, 2012 ‍REVIEWED BY: Erica S.


 * ACCURACY:** This site has plenty of information on the lore and myths that surround the constellations that the three stars of the Summer Triangle belong to: Cygnus the Swan, Lyra the Lyre and Aquila the Eagle. It gives a bit of the history that surrounds the relationship the stars have and why they are grouped together even though they belong to different constellations. Towards the bottom of the page it also gives a small section on distance, brightness, size and shape of the three stars in comparison to our sun.


 * READABILITY and CLARITY:** The score of 61.9 puts this page in the standard range according to the Flesch Reading Ease Scale. This would mean that it's about the average of most documents. None of the words seem to be difficult to understand so this site would be a good place for anyone who wants to know the basics of the Triangle to look.


 * NAVIGATION:** Overall, the navigation of this page is fairly good. It's clean and uncluttered so there are no annoying ads to get in the way or distract people from their research. There are a few external links that lead to different parts of the site for information on certain highlighted words like vocabulary, stars and other constellations.

=3. The Guardian - Starwatch: The summer triangle=
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AUTHOR: Alan Pickup LAST UPDATED: August 14, 2011 DATE REVIEWED: May 20, 2012 REVIEWED BY: Erica S.


 * ACCURACY:** The information written in this article is pretty accurate. It's mainly based on scientific facts, such as position, size and luminosity of the stars of the Summer Triangle and a few others that surround the asterism. There are also some details given about the Milky Way and some of the surrounding stars.


 * READABILITY and CLARITY:** The language used for the article on this page is actually pretty difficult to understand. It received a score of 49.8 on the Flescher Reading Ease Scale, so prior knowledge of the subject might be necessary to comprehend this page. It was probably written for people like scholars or those who are majoring in the subject.


 * NAVIGATION:** Navigating on this page is pretty simple. The article is short in length but it has external links on the side for related articles. It has a link for the main site so other things like news, science, world, tech, etc. are also available.

=4. Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Milky Way Through the Summer Triangle=
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AUTHOR: Robert Neniroff & Jerry Bonnell LAST UPDATED: December 12, 1996 DATE REVIEWED: May 22, 2012 REVIEWED BY: Erica S.


 * ACCURACY:** Considering this entry was written by a professional astronomer, the information on this page is definitely accurate. It gives the names of the stars and a brief explanation of the well-known asterism as well as a small description of the Milky Way that lies behind it.


 * READABILITY and CLARITY:** This page got a 61.9 score on the Flesch Reading Ease Scale, which puts it in the average of most documents. None of the words are extremely difficult to figure out and the writing is clear and concise. It doesn't give too many details, but by reading this page people can get the gist of what the Summer Triangle is.


 * NAVIGATION:** Overall, the page is fairly short. It consists of one picture and a brief description of what's in it. There aren't any distracting ads or useless links. The links it does have though, lead to other information and pictures pertaining to astronomy.

=5. Astronotes - Altair, Deneb and Vega: three easy to spot stars=
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AUTHOR: ADMIN/Colin Johnston LAST UPDATED: September 22, 2012 DATE REVIEWED: May 22, 2012 REVIEWED BY: Erica S.


 * ACCURACY:** The context of this page, although not as detailed as some of the other sites, is fairly accurate in the information it presents to the public. It mainly focuses on the stars themselves by giving basic info about them like size and luminosity.


 * READABILITY and CLARITY:** According to the Flesch Reading Ease Scale, this page would be put under the standard category of most documents given that it scored a 67. Most of the words are common enough in our language that most people might not have much difficulty reading and comprehending.


 * NAVIGATION:** This page is clean and uncluttered with only a nice background and neat article. It has a comment feature and people can even subscribe to the site. It also has external links that take you to other parts of the site that relate to astronomy.