Star profile

34 Cygni

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is 34 Cygni

Few stars are as woven into astronomical history as P Cygni, also designated 34 Cygni. On 18 August 1600, Willem Janszoon Blaeu watched it flare into view like a nova at the Swan's neck; it is now recognised as one of the earliest documented luminous blue variables, so distinctive that the spectroscopic feature it shows —combined absorption and emission lines— bears its name: the «P Cygni profile».

Where it is and when to see it

34 Cygni lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is August, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 87° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 18° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 52° S.

It ranks no. 32 in brightness among the 137 stars of Cygnus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Deneb, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 330,000 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 34 Cygni

Constellation: Cygnus
Apparent magnitude: 4.77
Distance: 326200.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 304.447° · Dec 38.033°
Catalogue: HIP 100044 · HD 193237

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Other stars in Cygnus

Cygnus has 137 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 137 stars in Cygnus