61 Cygni

Template: Infobox double star / Maintenance / single coordinate

61 Cygni is a double star in the constellation Cygnus. 61 Cygni is eleven light years away from the Sun and is one of the closest to the Sun Stars. He can already be resolved with a prism binoculars into individual stars.

The main star has an apparent magnitude of 5.21 mag and belongs to the spectral type K5 V to. He wears in various star catalogs the names HR 8085 and HD 201091st

The 6.03 like bright companion star belongs to the spectral class K7 V. He also bears the names of HD 201 092 and BD 38 ° 4344th

61 Cygni was the first fixed star whose distance was measured directly by determining its parallax, in the years 1837 and 1838 by the astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel at the observatory Königsberg. Bessel had once calculated that " come from this star the light to us only in 9 ¼ years." ( Quoted in Humboldt, Cosmos, pp. 43, Eichborn Edition 2004).

Its parallax is 0.3 ", Bessel had his small distance because of the large proper motion of about 5" guessed a year (see fast running).

61 Cygni in the Literature & Media

The science fiction novel Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds plays initially on a fictional planet Sky 's Edge, orbiting the star 61 Cygni A.

In the universe of Star Trek 61 Cygni is considered the home of the people of Tellarites and is also called Tellar. The Secondary The Worlds of the Federation, this connection for the first time.