Star profile
Deneb
Alpha Cygni · Cygnus
Variable starWhat is Deneb
Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus the Swan and is one of the most distant beacons the unaided human eye can perceive: a blue-white supergiant of type A whose light has been travelling for 1,412 years to reach us. The photons arriving tonight left its surface when the Eastern Roman Empire still flourished and Charlemagne had not yet been born. Its name, «Al-Dhanab» in medieval Arabic, means precisely «the tail», and it forms one corner of the Summer Triangle alongside Vega and Altair.
Where it is and when to see it
Deneb lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. Its best month of the year is August: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Deneb
- Constellation
- Cygnus
- Apparent magnitude
- 1.25
- Distance
- 1412.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 310.358° · Dec 45.280°
- Catalogue
- HIP 102098 · HD 197345
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Cygnus
Cygnus has 137 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- SadrGamma Cygni2.23
- AljanahEpsilon Cygni2.48
- FawarisDelta Cygni2.86
- AlbireoBeta 1 Cygni3.05
- Zeta Cygni3.21
- Xi Cygni3.72
- Tau Cygni3.74
- Iota 2 Cygni3.76