Deneb is a first-magnitude star in the constellation of Cygnus. Deneb is one of the vertices of the asterism known as the Summer Triangle and the "head" of the Northern Cross. It is the brightest star in Cygnus and the 19th brightest star in the night sky, with an average apparent magnitude of +1.25. A blue-white supergiant, Deneb rivals Rigel as the most luminous first-magnitude star. However, its distance, and hence luminosity, is poorly known; its luminosity is somewhere between 55,000 and 196,000 times that of the Sun. Its Bayer designation is α Cygni, which is Latinised to Alpha Cygni, abbreviated to Alpha Cyg or α Cyg.
Deneb is the brighest star in the constellation of Cygnus (top)
Wide-field view of the Summer Triangle and the Milky Way. Deneb is at the far left centre of the picture, at the end of the darker lane within the Milky Way.
Cygnus is a northern constellation on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan. Cygnus is one of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, and it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross. Cygnus was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.
Cygnus as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Surrounding it are Lacerta, Vulpecula and Lyra.
Cygnus is superimposed as main stars constellation over a photo of the according section of the night sky
On the left image side are the bright North America Nebula (left bright part) with Sadr region (right bright part) in the Cygnus X region, visually interrupted by the Cygnus rift, of the Cygnus constellation, in this x-ray image.
The constellation Cygnus as it can be seen by the naked eye, with the Northern Cross in the middle.