cygnus
the swan
✦ overview
also known as the northern cross, cygnus is one of the most distinctive constellations in the summer sky. in mythology it is often identified as zeus disguised as a swan (ok...). it lies directly along the milky way, making it a spectacular region to observe!
✦ facts
- deneb, cygnus's brightest star, is one of the brightest stars known, estimated to be 200,000 times brighter than our sun :0
- cygnus x-1, located in the constellation, was the first strong black hole candidate ever identified
- the kepler space telescope stared at a patch of cygnus for years searching for exoplanets, and found thousands!