61 Cygni is composed of two stars, one is magnitude 5.3 and the other is 5.9. Their current angular separation is about 28 arcseconds, which is more than enough to be distinguished in a modest telescope. These stars are of a type that is smaller and fainter than the Sun and consequently they appear orange in color.

Interesting fact one -- This humble star lies only 11.3 light-years away. Of all the stars visible to the naked eye (not including the Sun), it is the fourth nearest. Only Rigel Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri), Sirius and Epsilon Eridani are closer.

Interesting fact two -- In addition to the two visible stars, a third component, not visible in a telescope, orbits a member of the pair. Its presence came to light in 1942 when small but systematic variations in the orbits of the two stars were detected spectroscopically. Since then, the nature of this object has generated debate.

The period of this mysterious third component is about 4.8 years. But what's really intriguing is its apparent mass, which is some eight to 10 times more massive than Jupiter (there is some uncertainty here, obviously). Nonetheless, it falls near the upper mass cutoff point separating brown dwarfs from runt stars. Objects less than 13 times Jupiter's mass cannot sustain thermonuclear reactions and are considered brown dwarfs. Exactly what mass threshold separates brown dwarfs from planets, however, is still grist for scientific discussion.

There is one other interesting fact about 61 Cygni. Its motion across the sky is over 5 arcseconds per year, an extraordinary amount. For this reason, in 1838 it became the first star to have its distance determined.