Deneb
Where is Deneb?
Look south, about 84° up at 20:42 in Cygnus.
- Rises
- Always up
- Highest
- 20:44
- Sets
- Never
- Best after dark
- 20:42 · 84°
Can I see Deneb tonight?
From London tonight, Deneb is above the horizon all night. It’s highest soon after dark, around 20:42, in the south at 84°.
At magnitude 1.3 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Deneb look like?
Deneb looks white to the eye. Its spectral type is A2Ia: white supergiant (hotter than the Sun).
Eyes
A bright white star at the top of the Northern Cross, with the Milky Way running through.
Binoculars
Sweep along the Milky Way around Deneb for rich star fields. The North America Nebula lies nearby but needs dark skies.
Telescope
A point of light. The surrounding Milky Way is full of clusters and double stars.
About Deneb
Deneb is the tail of Cygnus, the Swan, and one corner of the Summer Triangle. It looks a little fainter than Vega and Altair, but that is only because it is so far away.
Deneb is a white supergiant, one of the most luminous stars visible to the naked eye. Its distance is uncertain, with estimates ranging from about 1,500 to 2,600 light-years; even at the low end, it shines with tens of thousands of times the Sun’s light.
It also marks the top of the Northern Cross, the shape made by the brightest stars of Cygnus, which lies along the Milky Way.
Deneb is roughly 200 times wider than the Sun and many times more massive. Its name comes from the Arabic for “tail”, as it marks the swan’s tail.
It lies along the Milky Way, and on dark nights the dark Cygnus Rift runs past it, splitting the bright band of the galaxy in two.
Deneb in Cygnus
Questions
How far away is Deneb?
Why does Deneb look fainter than Vega if it is more luminous?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences