ABSTRACT
The leader of Cygnus, Deneb, is an exceptionally powerful star, around 70,000 times as luminous as the Sun and 1,800 light-years away, so that we see it as it used to be at the time when Britain was occupied by the Romans. Lyra - in mythology, the harp which Apollo gave to the great musician Orpheus - is a small constellation, but with a large number of interesting objects. Lyra - in mythology, the harp which Apollo gave to the great musician Orpheus - is a small constellation, but with a large number of interesting objects. Vulpecula, the cosmical Fox, adjoins Cygnus; its brightest star is Alpha. Much the most interesting object in the constellation is the planetary nebula M27, always known as the Dumbbell because of its shape. Delta Lyrae is a double well worth looking at because of the colour contrast; the brighter component is red, while the companion is white.
