"The Swan"
Mythology :In Greek Mythology, Cygnus was a
king and friend of Phaethon (Son of Apollo). One day, Phaethon drove Apollo's
sun-chariot across the sky, but the horses lost control and reeked havoc in Earth
and heaven. Zeus was so mad he hurled a thunderbolt that instantly killed
Phaethon, his charred body falling into the river Eridanus. There are two endings
to this story : 1)Cygnus plunged into the river and dove like a swan looking for
Phaethon. Apollo took pity on him and Cygnus was placed among the stars; or 2)
Cygnus wandered the banks of the river singing a sad song. The gods then took pity
on him and placed him among the stars as a swan. It is now said that every time a
swan dies he sings a sad song, creating the expression "swan song".
Main Attractions :
In addition to being one of the only constellations that resembles it's name,
Cygnus is also known as the "Northern Cross", with Albireo being the foot of the
cross. Cygnus also has the important honor of housing Cygnus X-1, the first and
still most likely candidate of a black hole. Cygnus X-1 is one of the strongest
sources of X-rays in the sky, gas spirals off of the visible star into an unseen
companion, presumably a black hole.
