Hercules constellation. Optical image of the constellations Hercules, Lyra and Corona Borealis. North is at top. Hercules occupies the area between the triangle of bright stars seen here. These are Vega (Alpha Lyrae, upper left) in Lyra, Gemma (or Alphecca, Alpha Coronae Borealis, far right) in Corona Borealis and Ras Alhague (Alpha Ophiuchi, lower centre) in the neighbouring const- ellation Ophiuchus. Vega is the fifth brightest star in the sky. Part of the Milky Way is seen at lower left. This is a band of light crossing the sky formed from the millions of stars in the plane of our galaxy. This area of the sky is best seen from the northern hemisphere in Summer.