We're coming down to the home stretch of the spring season and this week, soon after nightfall, two constellations associated with the vernal season are reaching their highest point in the southern part of the sky: Boötes the Herdsman and Virgo the Young Maiden. Zero magnitude Arcturus and first magnitude Spica are, respectively, the brightest stars in these star patterns.
Now, were we to add the second-magnitude star Denebola, from nearby Leo the Lion, we can then trace out a large, nearly perfect equilateral triangle. George Lovi (1939-1993), who for many years penned the "Ramblings" column of Sky & Telescope magazine, called this pattern the "Spring Triangle," perhaps by analogy with the more famous Summer Triangle (made up of the stars Vega, Altair and Deneb).
