Cygnus, Lyra and the Great Rift, optical image. The constellation Cygnus (The Swan) is at upper left, with Lyra (The Lyre) at upper right. The most noticeable feature in Cygnus is the bright red North America emission nebula (NGC 7000) close to the top left corner. The brightest Cygnus star is Deneb (Alpha Cygni, directly right of the North America nebula), one of the most powerful stars known. The brightest star in Lyra is Vega (Alpha Lyrae), also the fifth brightest star in the whole sky. The Milky Way's dark lane (called the Great Rift) runs from top left to bottom right. This dense gas and dust cloud blocks the light from stars behind it but is permeated with many types of nebulae and stars.