Star profile
Xi Cygni
Highly luminous starWhat is Xi Cygni
Xi Cygni is a luminous K-type giant whose light crosses nearly 843 years before reaching us. It lies on the eastern wing of the Swan, not far from the rich stellar fields that the Milky Way pours through this constellation. Catalogued as a bright giant in the Yerkes luminosity scheme, it radiates with the strength of hundreds of suns —enough to cut through the clusters and dark nebulae that crowd the region.
Where it is and when to see it
Xi 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 September, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 82° up.
- From New York it culminates about 87° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 12° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 46° S.
It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 137 stars of Cygnus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Deneb, the brightest: it lies about 4° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 840 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Xi Cygni
- Constellation
- Cygnus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.72
- Distance
- 842.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 316.233° · Dec 43.928°
- Catalogue
- HIP 104060 · HD 200905
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Other stars in Cygnus
Cygnus has 137 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- DenebAlpha Cygni1.25
- SadrGamma Cygni2.23
- AljanahEpsilon Cygni2.48
- FawarisDelta Cygni2.86
- AlbireoBeta 1 Cygni3.05
- Zeta Cygni3.21
- Tau Cygni3.74
- Iota 2 Cygni3.76