Star profile

Kurhah

Xi Cepheus · Cepheus

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is Kurhah

Kurhah shines in the constellation of Cepheus, a white A-type star 97 light-years away. Its name, of medieval Arabic origin and uncertain etymology, has endured through the catalogues for its almost musical sonority. Cepheus, the Ethiopian king of Greek mythology, occupies the northern circumpolar sky alongside his wife Cassiopeia: an entire family condemned to wheel forever around the pole, never resting nor setting for observers in northern temperate latitudes.

Where it is and when to see it

Kurhah lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 77° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 66° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 25° S.

It ranks no. 13 in brightness among the 95 stars of Cepheus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alderamin, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 97 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Kurhah

Constellation: Cepheus
Apparent magnitude: 4.26
Distance: 96.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 330.947° · Dec 64.628°
Catalogue: HIP 108917 · HD 209790

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Other stars in Cepheus

Cepheus has 95 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 95 stars in Cepheus