Cygnus and Lyra constellations. Cygnus, the swan, is at centre left, with Lyra, the lyre, at centre right. The brightest star is Cygnus is Deneb (Alpha Cygni, upper left). This is one of the most powerful stars known, and is one of the brightest stars in the night sky despite its great distance of over 3000 light years. The brightest star in Lyra is Vega (Alpha Lyrae). This is the fifth brightest star in the night sky but is far closer than Deneb, at just 26 light years. Cygnus follows the path of the Milky Way from top left to bottom right. The Milky Way in this region is studded with nebulae (red), star clusters and dark dust clouds.