Star profile

Zeta Cygni

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Zeta Cygni

Zeta Cygni is an aged yellow giant, far more luminous and far cooler than when it burned on the main sequence. Hidden at its side travels a white dwarf companion — the compact corpse of a star that flared as a nova in a remote past and left behind a core no larger than Earth. It shines along the outstretched wing of the Swan, some 143 light years away, a silent postcard of the fate awaiting most stars.

Where it is and when to see it

Zeta 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 69° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 80° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 26° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 60° S.

It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 137 stars of Cygnus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Deneb, the brightest: it lies about 16° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 140 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Zeta Cygni

Constellation: Cygnus
Apparent magnitude: 3.21
Distance: 143.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 318.234° · Dec 30.227°
Catalogue: HIP 104732 · HD 202109

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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