# Fawaris (Delta Cygni)

Fawaris (Delta Cygni) is a star in the constellation Cygnus, magnitude 2.9.

**The western end of the Northern Cross’s crossbar — and a pole star of the far future.**

Around AD 11,250, Fawaris will probably be a pole star. Earth’s axis slowly wobbles, carrying the celestial pole round a wide circle among the northern stars, and that circle passes within three degrees of Delta Cygni. For at least four centuries it should take over the role Polaris plays today.

The name is older. Al-Fawāris, ‘the Riders’, was an Arabic grouping of four stars across the Swan’s outstretched wings — the crossbar of the Northern Cross. In 2018 the IAU gave it to Delta Cygni’s brightest star.

That star has company. Fawaris is a blue-white star of about three solar masses, spinning at least 135 kilometres a second — around 60 times faster than the Sun — and nearing the end of its hydrogen-burning life. A yellow-white companion circles it once every 780 years, and a faint orange star travels with both, making a [triple system](https://astropilot.space/glossary/multiple-star).

Fawaris (Delta Cygni) is 160 light-years away: the light we see from it set off around 1865, 13 years before Edison lit his first practical light bulb — the start of light pollution.

## Did you know?

- **Suspected, never confirmed.** In 1837 the companion was reported to vary between magnitudes 6.3 and 8.5, and in 1951 the main star was said to flicker slightly. Neither change has ever been confirmed.
- **The Celestial Ford.** In Chinese astronomy Delta Cygni belongs to Tiān Jīn, the Celestial Ford, along with Deneb and other stars of the Swan. It is the Ford’s second star.

The white 3rd-magnitude star at the western end of the Northern Cross’s crossbar. Steady air and high power reveal a 6th-magnitude companion tucked close beside it — a fine test for a small telescope.

## When and where to see it

It is best placed in the evening sky around August, when it crosses the meridian at about 10 pm local time (around midnight in July). It can be seen from everywhere north of 45°S and never sets north of 45°N.

At its highest it stands 85° up from 50°N, 80° up from 35°N, 45° up from the equator, 10° up from 35°S.

## Facts

- Type: Star
- Constellation: Cygnus
- Designations: Delta Cygni, δ Cyg, 18 Cyg, HR 7528, HD 186882, HIP 97165
- Magnitude: 2.9
- Position: RA 19h 45.0m, Dec +45° 8′ (J2000)
- Spectral type: B9.5IV
- Colour: white (B−V -0.02)
- Distance: 160 light-years
- Discovered: Known since antiquity

Open AstroPilot to see when Fawaris (Delta Cygni) is highest tonight from your location, how easy it is with your telescope or binoculars, and an eyepiece view. https://astropilot.space/object/fawaris