Star profile

7 Ceti

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class M · ~3,200 K

What is 7 Ceti

Catalogued as 7 Ceti by John Flamsteed in the eighteenth century, this red giant has sent its light across 447 light-years to reach us. Its cool M-type surface beats with a slow variability that betrays the late chapter of its life. It glows along the northern flank of Cetus, the cosmic Whale, where the autumn sky opens onto fainter constellations —a russet point that only clean nights deliver.

Where it is and when to see it

7 Ceti lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 20° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 30° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 75° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 71° N.

It ranks no. 15 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 450 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 7 Ceti

Constellation: Cetus
Apparent magnitude: 4.44
Distance: 447.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 3.660° · Dec -18.933°
Catalogue: HIP 1170 · HD 1038

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Other stars in Cetus

Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 111 stars in Cetus