Star profile
18 Cepheus
Variable starWhat is 18 Cepheus
18 Cephei is an M-type red variable in the Ethiopian king of the sky, 424 light-years away. Its surface pulses slowly, contracting and expanding, altering its brightness in long cycles. The deep red points to a cool, enormous atmosphere —a star already advanced in age, in the final phase before great changes. An old flame breathing in the deep north.
Where it is and when to see it
18 Cepheus 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 78° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 68° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 27° S.
It ranks no. 37 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 420 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 18 Cepheus
- Constellation
- Cepheus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.26
- Distance
- 424.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 330.971° · Dec 63.120°
- Catalogue
- HIP 108924 · HD 209772
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Other stars in Cepheus
Cepheus has 95 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AlderaminAlpha Cepheus2.45
- ErraiGamma Cepheus3.21
- AlfirkBeta Cepheus3.23
- 30 Cepheus5.19
- HIP 1095725.24
- HIP 1138645.25
- 20 Cepheus5.27
- HIP 1096935.27