Common variable star 23 EP

Cygnus X-1

RA 299.5903° · Dec 35.2016° · star

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Score breakdown

· 3 badges

23 pts · Common

Common 24 pts → Uncommon

Distant (>1000 ly) +10
Has a proper name +8
Variable star +5

Total score 23

1 more point to reach Uncommon.

Badges

Variable star · +5
Distant (>1000 ly) · +10
Has a proper name · +8

Trivia

Could we get there?

Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 34.1 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
Fastest probe ever. ≈ 3 million years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.
At 10% light speed. ≈ 19.4 thousand years in a starship at a tenth of light speed.
Distance. 1941 light-years from Earth.

Look-back time

Look-back time. The light you'd see left around the year 85.

Saying hello

Say hello. A radio message and its reply would take 3883 years round-trip.

How we found it

Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.

Properties

absmag: -0.033
bv: 0.73
constellation: Cyg
dist ly: 1941.4048
mag: 8.84
name: Cygnus X-1
named: yes
spect: B0Ib

About Cygnus X-1

Cygnus X-1 is a common variable star. It lies about 1,941.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cyg, shines at apparent magnitude 8.84 and has spectral type B0Ib.

Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.

How to see it

Look for Cygnus X-1 in the constellation Cyg. At apparent magnitude 8.84, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, Cygnus X-1 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.

Why Cygnus X-1 is a common variable star

Cygnus X-1 scores 23 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 3 science badges — Variable star, Distant (>1000 ly) and Has a proper name — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.