Star profile
Delta Cepheus
Variable starWhat is Delta Cepheus
Delta Cephei gave its name to an entire class of stars: the Cepheids, pulsating beacons that astronomers like Henrietta Leavitt used to measure distances to whole galaxies. At some 865 light-years, this yellow supergiant beats with almost metronomic regularity every five days and nine hours, swelling and contracting as its brightness rises and falls. Few stars have taught us so much about the scale of the universe.
Where it is and when to see it
Delta 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 83° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 72° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 32° S.
It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 95 stars of Cepheus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alderamin, the brightest: it lies about 10° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 870 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Delta Cepheus
- Constellation
- Cepheus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.07
- Distance
- 865.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 337.293° · Dec 58.415°
- Catalogue
- HIP 110991 · HD 213306
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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
- Zeta Cepheus3.39
- Eta Cepheus3.41
- Iota Cepheus3.50
- Epsilon Cepheus4.18
- Theta Cepheus4.21