Andromeda
Log inJoin

Star

P Cygni

Also 34 Cygni

Open in Ouranos

A luminous blue variable star that suddenly appeared in 1600, faded from naked-eye view in 1626, and has stayed around fifth magnitude since the 1700s.

Measured

Distance
about 5,218 light-years (published estimates 4,673–5,906)
Constellation
Cygnus
Position (J2000)
RA 20h 17m 47s, Dec +38.03°

How far, from the Sun

About 5,220 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light5,220 years
  • Voyager 1's speed92.7 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h56.3 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • It gives its name to the 'P Cygni profile', the spectral sign of a star blowing off gas.
  • Its distance comes from a Gaia parallax: the tiny yearly shift in its position as the Earth circles the Sun.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 0.6251 ± 0.0729 mas, Gaia DR3 2061242908036996352 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.