51 Cygni

51 Cygni is a multiple main-sequence star in the constellation of Cygnus.

51 Cygni visual magnitude is 5.39. Because of its reltive faintness, 51 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 51 Cygni:

Color of 51 Cygni ⬤

Magnitude of 51 Cygni 5.39

Class Main-sequence

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW 51 Cygni is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt. Altitude: 18°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 51 Cygni

51 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 51 Cygni are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 20h 42m 12s

Declination J2000 +50° 20’ 24”

Galactic Longitude 88.37°

Galactic Latitude 4.99°

Constellation Cygnus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 51 Cygni in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for 51 Cygni.

Visibility of 51 Cygni from your location

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

51 Cygni is circumpolar and transits at 04:12 UTC (altitude: 88.9°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of 51 Cygni

The image below is a photograph of 51 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 51 Cygni is 0.003 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.005 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of 51 Cygni. The red arrow shows the motion of 51 Cygni during the next 100000 years (5.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and 8.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 51 Cygni from the Sun and relative movement

51 Cygni is distant 923.51 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 3 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 283.29 pc

Distance (light year) 923.51 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -3 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.003 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 0.005 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 51 Cygni

51 Cygni belongs to spectral class B2 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

Absolute magnitude -1.87

Spectral Type B2V

Color Index (B-V) -0.1

Temperature of 51 Cygni 11573K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 51 Cygni is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of 51 Cygni. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

51 Cygni star system properties

51 Cygni is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the 51 Cygni double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 5.39

Secondary star magnitude 11.39

Magnitude difference 6

Separation 3 arcsec

Alternative designations of 51 Cygni

Flamsteed designation 51 Cygni

Henry Draper Catalogue HD197511

SAO Catalogue SAO32809

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP102177

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+49 3353

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS14189

In Evidence

Other stars in Cygnus