Star profile
Xi 2 Ceti
Hot blue starWhat is Xi 2 Ceti
Xi-2 Ceti is a blue-white B9.5 giant that astronomers use as a spectrophotometric standard star: a fixed benchmark against which fainter lights of the sky are calibrated. At 193 light-years, with two and a half solar masses and only 127 million years of life, it has exhausted its core hydrogen and expanded in its slow evolution. It is a reference star, a luminous yardstick.
Where it is and when to see it
Xi 2 Ceti 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 culminates about 47° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 58° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 48° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 82° S.
It ranks no. 13 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 37° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 190 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Xi 2 Ceti
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.30
- Distance
- 193.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 37.040° · Dec 8.460°
- Catalogue
- HIP 11484 · HD 15318
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Other stars in Cetus
Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- DiphdaBeta Ceti2.04
- MenkarAlpha Ceti2.54
- Eta Ceti3.46
- Delta Ceti4.08
- Pi Ceti4.24
- Mu Ceti4.27
- Xi 1 Ceti4.36
- 7 Ceti4.44