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Albireo - β1 Cygni (beta1 Cygni)

Albireo, also designated as β1 Cygni (beta1 Cygni), is a variable and multiple bright giant star in the constellation of Cygnus.

Albireo visual magnitude is 3.08. Because of its moderate brightness, Albireo should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Albireo:

Color of Albireo ⬤

Magnitude of Albireo 3.08

Class Bright giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Albireo - β1 Cygni (beta1 Cygni) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Albireo

Albireo 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 Albireo are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 19h 30m 43s

Declination J2000 +27° 57’ 34”

Galactic Longitude 62.11°

Galactic Latitude 4.57°

Constellation Cygnus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Albireo in the sky:

Finder chart Albireo - β1 Cygni (beta1 Cygni) star

Simplified finder chart for Albireo - β1 Cygni (beta1 Cygni).

Visibility of Albireo 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 Albireo - β1 Cygni (beta1 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: 62.0° RISE 19:16

Max altitude: 66.5° TRANSIT 4:05

Azimuth: 298.0° SET 12:49

RIGHT NOW Albireo - β1 Cygni (beta1 Cygni) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Albireo

The image below is a photograph of Albireo 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 Albireo is 0.002 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.002 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Albireo - β1 Cygni (beta1 Cygni) star

DSS2 image of Albireo. The red arrow shows the motion of Albireo during the next 100000 years (3.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Albireo from the Sun and relative movement

Albireo is distant 385.34 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 24 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 118.20 pc

Distance (light year) 385.34 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -24 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.002 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.002 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Albireo

Albireo belongs to spectral class K3 and has a luminosity class of II corresponding to a bright giant star.

Absolute magnitude -2.28

Spectral Type K3II

Color Index (B-V) 1.13

Temperature of Albireo 4451K

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

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

Albireo star system properties

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

Main star magnitude 3.08

Secondary star magnitude 5.08

Magnitude difference 2

Separation 34.7 arcsec

Alternative designations of Albireo

Proper Name Albireo

Bayer designation β1 Cygni
(beta1 Cygni)

Flamsteed designation 6 Cygni

Henry Draper Catalogue HD183912

SAO Catalogue SAO87301

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP95947

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+27 3410

FK5 Catalogue 732

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 12105

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS12540

In Evidence

Other stars in Cygnus