Gamma Cygni is a star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 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 has the traditional name Sadr (also spelled Sadir or Sador).

The traditional name comes from the Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 word صدر şadr, "chest", the same word which gave rise to the star Schedar (Alpha Cassiopeiae

Alpha Cassiopeiae

Alpha Cassiopeiae is a second magnitude star in the constellation Cassiopeia, with the traditional name Schedar, sometimes spelt Shedir. Though listed as the alpha star by Johann Bayer, Schedar's visual brightness closely rivals the beta star in the constellation, Caph...

).

In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket

Al Achsasi al Mouakket

Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket was an Egyptian astronomer whose calendarium and catalogue of stars, entitled Durret al Muddiah Fih al Aamal al Shamsiah , was written at Cairo about 1650.Al Achsasi was sheikh of the Grand Mosque of the University of Cairo, where his name al...

, this star was designated Sadr al Dedjadjet, (صدرألدجاجة-şadr aldajaaja) which was translated into Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 as Pectus Gallinǣ, meaning the hen's chest.

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 γ Cygni, 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, 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....

 and ε Cygni

Epsilon Cygni

Epsilon Cygni is a star in the constellation Cygnus . It is also called Gienah, a traditional name it shares with Gamma Corvi...

. Consequently, γ Cygni itself is known as .

This star is surrounded by a diffuse nebula called IC1318

IC1318

The Sadr region, or IC 1318, is the diffuse emission nebula surrounding Sadr or Gamma Cygni. Sadr lies in the center of Cygnus's cross. The Sadr region is one of the surrounding nebulous regions; others include the Butterfly Nebula and the Crescent Nebula...

, or the Gamma Cygni region.

External links

• Sadr by Jim Kaler.
• http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/nebulae/ic1318.html