Albireo
Where is Albireo?
Look southwest, about 65° up at 20:20 in Cygnus. It sinks lower through the evening and sets at 04:26.
- Rises
- 10:38
- Highest
- 19:34
- Sets
- 04:26
- Best after dark
- 20:20 · 65°
Can I see Albireo tonight?
From London tonight, Albireo is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest soon after dark, around 20:20, in the southwest at 65°.
At magnitude 3.0 it is visible by eye, even from many towns, when the sky is clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Albireo look like?
Albireo looks orange to the eye (color is easier to see in binoculars). Its spectral type is B9- (UV type for hot comp.): hot blue-white main-sequence star (much hotter than the Sun).
Eyes
A moderately bright star at the end of the Northern Cross, in the Milky Way.
Binoculars
Steady binoculars at 10× or more may just split it into two points.
Telescope
At 20–30×, a striking pair: gold and blue, side by side. The colors are vivid even in a small telescope.
About Albireo
Albireo marks the head of Cygnus, the Swan, or the foot of the Northern Cross. To the eye it is a single star, but a small telescope reveals one of the most beautiful sights in the sky: a golden-orange star with a smaller blue companion.
The two stars are about 430 light-years away. Whether they truly orbit each other or simply line up by chance is still debated.
Albireo’s name probably came from a series of mistranslations of older Greek and Arabic star names.
Gaia satellite measurements suggest the two stars may be at slightly different distances and moving differently, which would make them a chance alignment rather than a true pair. The brighter star is itself a close binary.
Many observers find the colors look richest when the telescope is slightly out of focus, which spreads each star’s light into a small disk of color.
Albireo in Cygnus
Questions
Why are Albireo’s two stars different colors?
What magnification do I need for Albireo?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences