Cygnus

Cygnus is situated in the Milky Way, directly east of Lyra and north of Delphin. The brightest star, Deneb, is 30 directly north of Delphin. The Swan, with widespread wings, is flying down through the Milky Way, the head being almost midway between Vega and Altair. The 3m star in the beak is Albireo. Deneb is in the base of the tail which points toward Cassiopeia.

Various fables are given of the origin of this constellation. The one mentioned by Virgil and Ovid is that the constellation took its name from a young man named Cygnus, a relative of Phaeton. Cygnus mourned deeply at the untimely death of his relative (see Fluvius Eridanus), and the gods were so pleased that they gave him a place in the sky. The pair Cygnus - Aquila is easily found in the sky as Aquila - the Eagle is eternally hunting the Swan - Cygnus and moving behind it.

Albireo - a nice double