CYGNUS

Cygnus is one of the most beautiful constellations in the sky where configuration and mythology blend perfectly. The great swan seems to fly along the Milky Way in summer towards the south. The 4 brightest stars in the constellation make up ‘The Northern Cross’ which can be seen well in late autumn when this asterism looks as if it is sitting on the northern horizon looking very much like a Christian cross announcing the coming of Advent and Christmas.

Cygnus shows up in many myths and has been identified with several different legendary swans. Zeus often takes on the body of the Cygnus as a disguise in order to covet his reluctant lovers. The most famous story is that of Leda and the Swan, the Queen of Sparta, who impregnated by Zeus in the form of a swan and also impregnated by her husband, Tyndareus, the same evening, gave birth to 4 children, two immortals, Helen of Troy and Pollux and two mortals, Clytemnestra and Castor. Interesting to note is that one of the constellation’s stars, 61 Cygnus, was the first star to have its distance measured by an astronomer. This happened in 1838 and the Swiss astronomer’s name was F.W. Bessel.

The Alpha star Deneb is one of the three components of the Summer Triangle which is also made up of Altair (Aquilae) and Vega (Lyra). It is an exceptional star: it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky even though it is 1,400 light-years away. There is, however, speculation about the distance. Some believe it is 1,800 light-years away while others believe the distance could be 2,600 light-years. Some even estimate its distance to be as great as 3,000 light-years. It is, in all estimates, exceptionally bright perhaps 200,000 times the brightness of the Sun. Its name comes from Arabic and means ‘tail’ of the swan.

The Beta star Albireo is the head of the swan and is considered one of the most beautiful double starsin the sky. You can see its contrasting colors through a telescope. There is a yellow-hued red giant next to a small blue-green star. It is about 400 light-years from us and it is not certain whether the stars are part of a binary system or are simply near to each other due to our vantage point or perspective. It is the star at the base of the Northern Cross the ‘beak star’ of the mythological swan. It is, however, getting nearer to us, in 5 million years it will be the brightest star in the sky!