Cygnus

It's very common to look up at the night sky in awe. Beautiful stars of different colors, brightnesses, and sizes glitter the dark backdrop of the cosmos, and our backyards are the windows to this relatively unknown world. People have been looking up in the night since humanity has been in existence. In an attempt to make sense of these twinkling, unknown specks, our ancestors have connected them in the familiar shapes we now know as constellations. 

There are some famous constellations. Ursa Major, Orion, Sagittarius, and Aquarius are some of these celebrities of the sky. These constellations, as well as every other constellation in the sky, have stories behind them that were conjured up by our ancestors - the very ancestors that imagined them in the first place. These stories are remarkable - love affairs that span generations, great monsters and beasts and the heroes that slay them, hunters and their canine companions... the list goes on and on. 

One of my favorite constellations is Cygnus, the swan.

Cygnus' story is not as well-known as some of the others, as there have been many mythological swans. The constellation tells multiple stories within Greek mythology alone.

Constellation Guide says that the most well known story involves the Spartan Queen Leda. Queen Leda was seduce by the great god Zeus, after he transformed himself into a swan and came down to Earth. Queen Leda then gave birth to Pollux and Castor, who are the two twins depicted in the constellation Gemini.

My favorite story attached to the Cygnus constellation tell the tale of two charioteers, Phaeton and Cycnus. The two friends were racing across the sky when they got too close to the Sun and their chariots burned up (notice similarities to Daedalus and Icarus, anyone?). After falling to Earth, Cycnus began to look for Phaeton and discovered him, dead, at the bottom of the Eridanus River. Unable to retrieve the body, Cycnus made a deal with Zeus. If he was blessed with the body of a swan, he would only live as long as a swan would. Once transformed into a swan, Cycnus was able to retrieve Phaeton's body and give him a proper burial, which allowed him to travel to the afterlife. Touched by Cycnus' loyalty to his friend, Zeus had his image placed in the sky.

Cygnus can be found in the night sky right around this time of the year. If you face south and look directly at our zenith (straight above your head) at around 9 o'clock, you will notice a trio of bright stars known as the Summer Triangle.

In this triangle you will notice a blue-white star. This star is called Deneb, which is the brightest star in Cygnus.  The constellation of Cygnus points into the center of the Summer Triangle. If you look at Deneb as if it is the top of a cross, Cygnus becomes easy to find.

This should help you if you're having difficulty locating the constellation.