61 Cygni

61 Cygni is a star in the constellation Cygnus. Though it is among the least conspicuous of stars visible in the night sky to an observer without an optical instrument, 61 Cygni attracted the attention of astronomers due to its large proper motion. The star is in fact a double star system.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This system should not be confused with 16 Cygni, which includes a Sun-like star with a very eccentric planet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

61 Cygni's proper motion is so great, relatively speaking, that its apparent position shifts by an amount equal to the width of the full moon in a mere 150 years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This large proper motion, the largest known for any star at the time, made 61 Cygni a candidate for the determination of its distance by the method of parallax when the quality of astronomical observations first made this possible. The star therefore has the distinction of being the first star (excluding the Sun) to have its distance determined. This was accomplished by Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel in 1838 who arrived at a figure close to the currently accepted value of 11.4 light years.

Star: :This article is about celestial bodies....

Constellation: A constellation is a group of stars visibly related to each other in a particular configuration. In three-dimensional space, most of the stars we see have little relation to one another, but can appear to be grouped on the celestial sphere of the night sky. Humans excel at finding patterns and throu...

Cygnus: Cygnus is the Latin word for swan, the romanized form of the ancient Greek ?????? (kyknos) "swan". It may refer to:...