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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:54  
clear_day Transit: 11:51  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
wb_twilight Astronomical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Cygnus » 

48 Cygni

Altitude: 2.4°   Azimuth: 38.0°   Direction: North-East

48 Cygni is a multiple giant star in the constellation of Cygnus.

48 Cygni visual magnitude is 6.32. Because of its reltive faintness, 48 Cygni should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 48 Cygni:

6.32
Giant

48 Cygni is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 2.4°
Azimuth: 38.0°
Direction: North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 48 Cygni

48 Cygni is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 48 Cygni are provided in the following table:

20h 37m 31s
+31° 34’ 21”
72.92°
-5.73°
Cygnus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 48 Cygni in the sky:

Finder chart 48 Cygni star
Simplified finder chart for 48 Cygni.

Visibility of 48 Cygni from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's 48 Cygni rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 58.4°
Max altitude: 70.1°
Azimuth: 301.6°

Digitized Sky Survey image of 48 Cygni

The image below is a photograph of 48 Cygni from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 48 Cygni is 0.01 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 48 Cygni star
DSS2 image of 48 Cygni. The red arrow shows the motion of 48 Cygni during the next 10000 years (1.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 48 Cygni from the Sun and relative movement

48 Cygni is distant 783.65 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 19 kilometers per second.

240.38 pc
783.65 ly
-19 km/s
0.01 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 48 Cygni

48 Cygni belongs to spectral class B8 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

-0.58
B8III
11407K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 48 Cygni is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 48 Cygni. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

48 Cygni star system properties

48 Cygni is a visual double star which can be observed with binoculars or small telescopes. The table below shows key information about the 48 Cygni double sysyem:

6.32
6.42
0.1
180.8 arcsec

Alternative designations of 48 Cygni

SAO70287
SAO70287