Epsilon Cygni is a star in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Cygnus

Cygnus (constellation)

Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way. Its name is the Latinized Hellenic word for swan. One of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross...

 . It is also called Gienah, a traditional name it shares with Gamma Corvi

Gamma Corvi

Gamma Corvi is the brightest star in the constellation Corvus. Its traditional name is Gienah, which it shares with Epsilon Cygni...

. The name "Gienah" derives from the Arabic word for wing, جناح janāħ.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Celestial Ford

Girl (Chinese constellation)

The Girl mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise.- Asterisms :...

, refers to an asterism consisting of ε Cygni, γ Cygni

Gamma Cygni

Gamma Cygni is a star in the constellation Cygnus. It has the traditional name Sadr ....

, δ Cygni

Delta Cygni

Delta Cygni is the third-magnitude star in the constellation Cygnus. It has the traditional name Rukh. It will be the "North Star" for at least four centuries around 11,250....

, 30 Cygni, α Cygni

Deneb

Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus and one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle. It is the 19th brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of 1.25. A blue-white supergiant, Deneb is also one of the most luminous nearby stars...

, ν Cygni, τ Cygni

Tau Cygni

Tau Cygni is a binary star system in the constellation Cygnus, approximately 69 light years away from Earth. The main star, 4th magnitude GJ 822.1 A, is a yellowish white subgiant star of the spectral type F2IV. It therefore has a surface temperature of 6,000 to 7,500 kelvins and is larger,...

, υ Cygni and ζ Cygni

Zeta Cygni

Zeta Cygni and CCDM J21129+3014B form a binary star system in the constellation Cygnus, approximately 151 light-years away from Earth....

. Consequently, ε Cygni itself is known as .

Epsilon Cygni is a cool orange giant star that is, as many visible stars tend to be, well along in terms of its stellar evolution

Stellar evolution

Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years to trillions of years .Stellar evolution is not studied by observing the life of a single...

. While young in comparison to the Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

, its larger mass gives it a much shorter lifespan, and the star is in the beginning stages of its death. It is 72 light-years from Earth.

External links

• http://www.tcaep.co.uk/astro/constell/20460042.htm
• http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/aug1/NGC_6960.html
• http://www.pbase.com/mcrowle/image/81902791