It’s high summer and the famous Summer Triangle is rising high in the evening sky.

            The Summer Triangle is not a constellation, but is an easily recognizable trio of bright stars. It also outlines the Star Bible theme of Genesis 3:15: The Seed of Woman will be bruised in the heel and will crush the head of the Serpent. The first member is Deneb, meaning “The Lord Comes”, which is located in the constellation Cygnus (The Swan and also the Northern Cross). Second is Altair, meaning “The Wounding”, in the constellation Aquila (The Eagle), which speaks to the “Bruising” of the Seed of Woman. Finally comes Vega, meaning “He Shall Be Exalted”, in Lyra (The Harp) which tells of the victory of Christ, The Seed of Woman.

            Hidden within the Summer Triangle is an invisible celestial treat, a black hole known as X-1 Cygnus. Modern Astronomy tells us that this black hole is the remains of a supernova which exploded and then collapsed into a black hole. Ancient Chinese astronomers pinpointed the supernova to 5 BC, at the birth of Christ. It is the remains of the Star of Bethlehem (See our Blog of 12/9/15, “Christmas with the Star of Bethlehem”).

            Just after dark the Summer Triangle will be high in the Eastern sky. Vega, the brightest of the Summer Triangle stars and the fifth brightest Star in the Heavens, will be just to the East of the Zenith point. Deneb is North East of Vega, and Altair is to the South East of Vega. The black hole X-1 Cygnus is located in the Northern Cross at the point corresponding to the place on Christ’s cross which he was “Bruised in the heel” by a Roman nail.       

            The Summer Triangle is visible for nearly half a year in the evening hours. We recommended that you get familiar with it now and revisit it like an old friend.

            And don’t forget to tell your old friends about the story of Christ encapsulated in Deneb, Altair, and Vega.