- Stars with a name
- Cygnus X-1
Cygnus X-1
HD 226868
Cygnus X-1 is a very hot blue supergiant, in the constellation Cygnus. The light you see from it tonight left it around 85.
Where to find it
From mid-northern latitudes, such as New York, Rome or Tokyo, it is best seen in the evening sky in June, July, August, September, October, and November.
Too faint for the naked eye: you’ll need binoculars. Apparent magnitude 8.84.
What it’s like
It gives off 90 times as much light as the Sun.
Its surface temperature is about 5,200 degrees Celsius.
It is 1,941.4 light years away: 18,367 trillion kilometres.