Albireo - Beta Cygni

This blog seemed to be lacking in Double Stars, so what better place to start than Albireo, Beta Cygni, said to be the most beautiful double in the whole night sky. Albireo, at a distance of 380 light-years, can be found at the bottom of the 'Northern Cross' and is easily split with any telescope. The most striking thing about this double is the difference in colours, one gold and one blue, seperated by 35 arc seconds. It is still uncertain as to whether this is a true binary star, if it is then the orbital period has been estimated at around 100,000 years! The gold star is itself a double star, potentially making this a triple system.
The image, taken on 4th August, is a stack of 9 30second frames with darks and flats, processed (very lightly) using the GIMP. Skywatcher 8" Newtonian, Coma corrector and Canon EOS550d.