Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
Donate now! You'll help cover server costs, enhance the site and keep it ad-free.
public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:46  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 21:07 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
All Constellations » Cygnus » 

β2 Cygni (beta2 Cygni)

Altitude: 25.8°   Azimuth: 283.2°   Direction: West-North-West

β2 Cygni is a multiple main-sequence star in the constellation of Cygnus.

β2 Cygni visual magnitude is 5.11. Because of its reltive faintness, β2 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 β2 Cygni:

5.11
Main-sequence

β2 Cygni (beta2 Cygni) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 25.8°
Azimuth: 283.2°
Direction: West-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of β2 Cygni

β2 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 β2 Cygni are provided in the following table:

19h 30m 45s
+27° 57’ 55”
62.12°
4.57°
Cygnus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of β2 Cygni in the sky:

Finder chart β2 Cygni (beta2 Cygni) star
Simplified finder chart for β2 Cygni (beta2 Cygni).

Visibility of β2 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 β2 Cygni (beta2 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°
Max altitude: 66.5°
Azimuth: 298.0°
β2 Cygni (beta2 Cygni) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of β2 Cygni

The image below is a photograph of β2 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 β2 Cygni is -0.009 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of β2 Cygni (beta2 Cygni) star
DSS2 image of β2 Cygni. The red arrow shows the motion of β2 Cygni during the next 100000 years (-15.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of β2 Cygni from the Sun and relative movement

β2 Cygni is distant 376.01 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 18 kilometers per second.

115.34 pc
376.01 ly
-18 km/s
-0.009 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of β2 Cygni

β2 Cygni belongs to spectral class B8 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

-0.20
B8V
11573K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where β2 Cygni is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of β2 Cygni. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

β2 Cygni star system properties

β2 Cygni is a visual double star which can be observed with binoculars or small telescopes. The table below shows key information about the β2 Cygni double sysyem:

5.11
7.11
2
34.7 arcsec

Alternative designations of β2 Cygni

β2 Cygni
(beta2 Cygni)
SAO87302
SAO87302