It's easy to find Cygnus the Swan once you find the Northern Cross in the eastern summer sky.

Among the 88 constellations seen from Earth, there are all kinds of celestial characters, and all of them have stories dreamed up by people over the centuries.

That's certainly the case with the constellation Cygnus the Swan. I'll get to the story in just a bit, but first let me help you find the big bird of the summer.

The best way to spot Cygnus is to first look for the "Summer Triangle." That's one of the handiest tools we have for finding your way around the summer skies. Just look in the east for the three brightest stars. Each of the three stars that make up the triangle is the brightest star in their respective constellations.

The bright star on the lower left hand corner of the Summer Triangle is Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus the Swan.

By the way, Deneb is a huge luminous star that's at least 1,600 light years away — with just one light year equaling nearly six trillion miles.

Before you hunt down the rest of swan, it's actually easier at first to see Cygnus by its nickname, the Northern Cross.

Most of the stars in Cygnus also outline a giant cross lying on its side that's easy to spot. Deneb is at the head of the cross and, as you gaze to the right of Deneb, you'll see three stars lined up in a vertical row that make up the cross piece.

Look farther down to the right of the crosspiece and you'll see Albireo, a moderately bright star that marks the foot of the sideways cross. By the way, take a small telescope and have a look at Albireo. You'll see that what looks like a not-so-impressive star with the naked eye is actually a gorgeous, colorful double star. One of the stars is a distinct blue and the other a pale orange, with both stars shining nearly 400 light years away.

Once you see the Northern Cross, it's a cinch to see the entire swan. The bright star Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus and Albireo marks the head of the bird. Then all you have to do is look for a couple of fainter stars a little to the left of both sides of the crosspiece. That turns the crosspiece into an arc that outlines the giant wingspan of Cygnus.

The Greek mythology story of Cygnus is indeed a sad swan song for Phaethon, the restless teenage son of Apollo, the god of the sun.

Apollo was one of the most important gods of Mount Olympus. After all, he was the god of the sun and the sky pilot for the sun, guiding the giant glass sun chariot across the sky day after day, gallantly pulled by a fleet of flying white horses.

Phaethon idolized his dad and very much wanted to eventually take over the reins of the sun chariot when Apollo retired.

Phaethon forever begged his dad to let him take the sun chariot for a spin but Apollo forbade it. One morning, however, temptation set in, and disaster followed.

Apollo overslept that morning and Phaethon realized that this was his chance. He entered the hanger of the golden chariot, climbed in and backed it out. Before he knew it, he was airborne!

He actually was doing a great job guiding the horses and the sun chariot, but he couldn't resist hot-dogging it.

Phaethon was pulling celestial wheelies when he lost control. The chariot was heading for a horrible crash.

From Mount Olympus, Zeus saw what was happening and had to take immediate action. He, of course, had no idea that Apollo's son was at the controls. For all he knew, some scoundrel had stolen the vehicle. He shouted down to Apollo, and then shot a lightning bolt at Phaethon, spearing him out of the driver's seat and on the way to a fatal plunge.

Meanwhile Apollo, using the winged shoes of Mercury, flew up to the chariot and quickly brought it under control.

Phaethon swan-dived to his death into the river Po. When his body finally resurfaced, the gods of Mount Olympus recognized the great tragedy they had just witnessed.

To comfort Apollo, who was completely overcome by grief, Phaethon's remains were instantly and magically transformed into the beautiful constellation we see today as Cygnus the swan.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and author of the book, "Pennsylvania Starwatch," available at bookstores and at his Web site www.lynchandthestars.com