Astronomy · Stars
Vega
The brilliant blue-white star of Lyra.
- Constellation
- Lyra
- Color
- Blue-white
- Asterism
- Vertex of the Summer Triangle
- Note
- A former — and future — northern pole star
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona · NASA media (public domain)
Gallery
NASA's Psyche Images Stars, Jovian System
NASA's Psyche spacecraft captured multiple star and planet images in late January 2025 that include notable appearances by Mars, Jupiter, and the Jovian moons Io, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.
2025
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU · NASA media (public domain)
A summer beacon
Vega is a hot, blue-white star and one of the most prominent in the northern sky. High overhead on summer evenings, it anchors the small constellation Lyra, the Lyre.
The Summer Triangle
Vega forms one corner of the Summer Triangle, a large asterism completed by Deneb in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila. The pattern is one of the easiest star groupings to learn in the northern summer.
A shifting pole star
Because Earth's axis slowly wobbles over a roughly 26,000-year cycle (precession), the title of pole star passes between stars over time. Vega held it in the distant past and will again in the future, while Polaris marks the pole today.
Knowledge connections
How this connects across Asteria Star — scientific, cultural, and astrological links are kept separate.
Scientific connections
- Belongs toLyra
- Associated withThe Summer Triangle
- Associated withThe Local Stellar Neighbourhood in 3D