Profile / Characteristics
| English translation | Latin declination and pronunciations | Size/ °² | # stars (visible) |
| the Swan | Cygnus – SIG- SIG-nu Cygni – SIG-nye | 804 | 272 |
Main Star (brightest one):
| Designation | HIP number | name in IAU-CSN | brightness |
| α Cyg | HIP 102098 | Deneb | 1.25 mag (V) |
Our (modern) Explanation
The original Greek constellation was named “Ornithos, The Bird” and it was coined “Cygnus, The Swan” in Latin by interpreting a specific mythological bird, a transformed god.
Ancient Globes
Farnese Globe
Kugel Globe
Mainz Globe
Ancient Lore & Meaning
Aratus
Reference:
English translation by Douglas Kidd (1997).
Aratus: Phaenomena, Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries, Series Number 34
Pseudo-Eratosthenes
References:
French translation by:
Jordi Pàmias i Massana and Arnaud Zucker (2013). Ératosthènes de Cyrène – Catastérismes, Les Belles Lettres, Paris
English version in:
Robin Hard (2015): Eratosthenes and Hyginus Constellation Myths with Aratus’s Phaenomena, Oxford World’s Classics
Early Modern Interpretation
Contemporary
As one of their first tasks in the 1920s, the newly founded International Astronomical Union (IAU) established constellation standards. The Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte was assigned to the task to define borders of constellations parallel to lines of declination and right ascension. They were accepted by the General Assembly in 1928. The standardized names and abbreviations had already been accepted in 1922 and 1925.
