Cygnus and Lyra constellations
author: J.Lodriguss/Novapix
reference: a-cst27-00003
Image Size 300 DPI: 30 * 20 cm
Lyra is at the upper right of the photo and Cygnus takes of most of the rest of the frame. Brilliant Vega, the fifth brightest star in the night sky, is the brightest star in the image. It is located about 25 light years away. Bright red emission nebulae can also be seen in Cygnus, including the North America Nebula and nebulosity around Gamma Cygni at left. Deneb, visible just above and to the right of the North America Nebula, is the 20th brightest star in the night sky and is located about 1,500 light years away. The rich star clouds in Cygnus are broken by large dark lanes and rifts in the summer Milky Way. The dark lanes are clouds of dark matter that obscure the stars behind them.