Constellation
Cygnus - The Swan
Constellation Data
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Mythology
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Cygnus The Swan
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Constellation Data
Object name: Cygnus
Equatorial: RA: 20h 37m 24s Dec: +42°03'11"(current)
Equatorial 2000: RA: 20h 37m 12s Dec: +42°01'48"
Sky Database: Constellation
Abbreviation: Cyg
Constellation: Genitive Form: Cygni
Description: The Swan
Pronunciation: SIG' nuhs
Genitive Pronunciation: SIG' ny
Mythology
Cygnus represents a swan swimming through the milky way.
The swan is thought to be a form taken by Zeus while making amourous
(and unwanted) advances to either Nemesis, a sea nymph, or
Leda,Queen of Sparta. In some stories Zeus' affair with Leda
resulted in the birth of Helen of Troy.
The brightest star in Cygnus
appears in the tail of the constellation and is called Deneb, which
derives from an arabic
word meaning tail. Deneb and the stars Vega in [Lyra] and
Altair in [Aquila] form the "summer triangle," three bright stars
that appear high in the sky in the northern hemisphere during the
evening hours in mid summer. The star Albireo, at the head of
the swan, is a beautiful double star that can be resolved by even
the smaller telescopes.
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