Find it in the sky
A great cross along the Milky Way, the Northern Cross: bright Deneb at its top, Albireo at its foot. On September evenings.
Northern sky
Cygnus
Cygnus: Deneb is a corner of the Summer Triangle.
Best in September, around 9 p.m.No. 16 of the 88 constellations by areaBrightest star Deneb (magnitude 1.25)6 stars in this guide
The drawings on these maps are the game’s, and don’t show exact positions in the sky.
Legend
In Greek myth Zeus takes the form of a swan to reach Leda. In another tale Cycnus dives into the river again and again to find his fallen friend Phaethon, and Zeus, in pity, turns him into a swan.
Its stars
Magnitude says how bright a star looks from here: the smaller the number, the brighter the star.
Albireo
Beta Cygni
- Type
- Orange bright giant
- Distance
- about 365 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.10
- Name
- From a garbled Latin name; it marks the swan’s beak
Through a small telescope, a gold star and a blue one: one of the sky’s finest colour pairs.
Sadr
Gamma Cygni
- Type
- Yellow-white supergiant
- Distance
- about 1,800 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.23
- Name
- “The breast” (Arabic): the swan’s breast
The centre of the Northern Cross; a cloud of gas glows around it.
Fawaris
Delta Cygni
- Type
- Blue-white giant
- Distance
- about 165 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.87
- Name
- “The horsemen” (Arabic)
A triple system, with a faint yellow-white companion at its side.
Aljanah
Epsilon Cygni
- Type
- Orange giant
- Distance
- about 73 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.48
- Name
- “The wing” (Arabic)
The swan’s eastern wing; it has an unseen companion.
Azelfafage
Pi¹ Cygni
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 1,700 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.67
- Name
- Uncertain; perhaps an old Arabic name of Lyra (“the tortoise”), moved here by mistake
At the tip of the swan’s tail; hard to pick out under city lights.
Deneb
Alpha Cygni
- Type
- White supergiant
- Distance
- about 2,600 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 1.25
- Name
- “The tail” (Arabic), from “the hen’s tail”
One of the most luminous stars the eye can see: it shines like tens of thousands of Suns.
Reading isn’t enough
Play two boards in your browser now. No download, no account.
Sources: constellation areas follow the International Astronomical Union (IAU) boundaries; star values come from Wikipedia’s articles, based on Hipparcos and Gaia; the Sun’s dates come from EarthSky. Distances are rounded.